Canuck Combat
by Irish-Ninja
Summary: A new fighter joins the DOA tournament. What adventures await him at DOAtec? Humour fic turns actual story midway through, please R&R. All 17 chapters are up! Hoo-ah!
1. Chapter 1: Y'all from Canada?

Canuck Combat  
  
I do not own any of the DOA characters, Tecmo Team Ninja owns all characters, places, situations and about 40% of my brain.  
  
This fic was originally planned to be a homour story, but somehow an actual storyline hit me midway through, so this will be going from comedy to not-so-comedy about midway through the story.  
  
Be warned, I will be making fun of Canada, the United States and likely any other country that I mention as the story progresses, not to mention maybe hair and fashion styles, hey if I have a chance to poke fun at it, I will. All of the following situations are to be taken VERY lightly. I am in no way intentionally offending any country, state, province, ethnicity or religious background, just having some good fun.  
  
one last note: Italics will represent what the main character is thinking, not saying out loud  
  
Chapter 1: Y'all from Canada?   
"Ladies and gentlemen, we are now arriving to our destination, we ask that you please remain seated with your seatbelts fastened until further notice." the southern stewardess said over the plane's P.A. system. Phil sat staring out his window, listening to his headphones. The plane finally touched down at the airstrip and slowed almost immediately. He kept staring out the window, trying to absorb the massive DOAtec complex that was laid out around the landing strip. When the seatbelt light went out, Phil gathered his belongings and hurried himself out the door and down the steps. The DOAtec private airfield was quite extravagant even compared to the many airports he had seen back home in Toronto. A handful of others followed him off the plane. Phil eyed his competition for the tournament, this being his first time in the Dead Or Alive tournament, he tried to analyze his future opponents as best as possible. A small bus waited several feet away, obviously here to pick up the combatants and take them to the arena. Phil adjusted his backpack on his shoulder and sped up his pace, noticing he had fallen behind and was one of the last to climb aboard the bus. A man sat next to the driver with a clipboard with a list on it.  
"Name?" the man spoke with a dull tone.  
_I'm fine, thank you, yourself?_ "Phil Conners." Phil answered. The man flipped through the list.  
"From Toronto?" the man asked, again very dryly and nasally. Phil reminded himself where he was and kept a polite front.  
"Yes sir." he said. The man checked a box next to his name.  
"Not like it makes a difference, you're the only Phil Conners we got."  
_HAVE, the only Phil Conners you HAVE._ Phil gave a polite chuckle at the man's comment.   
"Go sit down son, you're holding us up." Phil nodded and walked down the aisle, finding an unoccupied seat and settling into it. A blonde lady sat behind him, eyeing him, then his backpack. Phil looked at her in the corner of his eye, but didn't speak.   
_Yeah, THOSE are fake_. The lady pointed at the Canadian flag patch sewn on his backpack.  
"Y'all from Canada?" the young lady spoke with a heavy southern drawl. Phil raised an eyebrow.  
_Oh yeah, all of us... I'm sitting alone, who the hell are you looking at you goof?_ "Yes, I am. Toronto." The lady's eyes grew wide.  
"Wow, so you're from the capital." Phil shook his head and smiled politely.  
"No, actually Ottawa is our capital." _Not that I expect you to even be able to pronounce it let alone remember it._ The blonde lady giggled.  
"Sure it is, ya almost had me goin' for a sec there." she said, pausing to take a sip of her drink. "So, you dress awful light for a Canadian." Phil looked down at himself. Sporting a worn pair of converse one stars, baggy jeans, a black Tshirt and a black baseball cap, he couldn't find anything unusual about himself.  
"I'm sorry?" he asked her. The lady laid her head down on the backrest of his seat, making herself comfortable.  
"I mean, isn't it kinda cold up there to be wearing just a shirt?"  
_Is this chick for real?_ he thought. _It's July for crying out loud_."Actually it's rather warm back home right now, probably the same temperature there as it is here really." The blonde looked shocked.  
"What? I heard Canada was all snowy and stuff." Phil let out a fake laugh, keeping a friendly smile on his face.  
_Yes, the snow is neck deep all year around, and I live in an igloo and ride a dogsled_. "No, I'm sorry it seems you were misinformed." The blonde looked confused again.  
"You sure talk awful funny."  
_Speak awfully funny! You uneducated dolt!_ "Well, I'll work on it." He let out another fake social laugh. The blonde smiled and stuck out her hand.  
"I'm Tina, Tina Armstrong." Phil shook her hand, surprised for a moment that her handshake had hurt his hand.  
"Phil Conners. That's quite a grip you have there, Tina." Tina laughed and flexed her arms playfully.  
"Well you know what they say about us Texas girls."  
_Actually no I don't, and I'm okay with that_

* * *

Well, we're off. Phil has met Tina and already he's exhasperated, too bad he can't say anything because he's Canadian and it wouldn't be nice : )  
Who will Phil meet next? Will he be ready for the impending mocking that awaits him? Tune in next chapter to find out!


	2. Chapter 2: Out and About the House

Chapter 2: Out and about the house. The bus ride seemed awfully long considering it was taking them to a building on the same grounds as the airfield. Phil smiled and nodded the entire time while Tina babbled on and on endlessly. Phil didn't have the heart to tell her he couldn't understand half of what she was saying and the other half he simply didn't care, but after all, it wouldn't have been nice and she was likely having difficulty with his accent to. Finally the bus stopped at a large complex and the passengers filed out. Tina stayed with Phil, still talking endlessly as a guide spoke about the conduct they were to follow during their stay.  
"Look, Tina, I don't mean to be a downer, but we really should listen to what this guy is saying, eh?" Tina burst out laughing and pointed at Phil.  
"You said 'eh'!" A bunch of those surrounding them "shh"ed them and told them to shut up.  
Damn I did, didn't I? I'll never live THAT down I'm sure. "Yes I did, now let's listen to this guy." Tina waved her hand in a dismissing manner.  
"Shucks, I done been in this tournament every year, this is my fourth time, I don't need to hear this again."  
Good for you, here's a cookie. "Heh well I guess you win there." Wait a minute, did she just say 'I done been'?  
"Any questions?" the guide said, wrapping up his welcome. No one spoke, the guide looked over at Phil. "You were doing an awful lot of talking during my speech, sir. Tell me, what wing is it forbidden for guests to enter?" Phil stared blankly for a minute then let his head sink. "You don't know do you?" Phil shook his head. "The Delta wing is off limits to all guests, please try to remember that. You're not in Canada anymore, there are things here more dangerous than penguins and polar bears." The crowd let out a good laugh at the guide's joke, Phil grinned sheepishly and nodded.  
"Heh, yeah, sorry." Yeah keep making jokes buddy, I dare you, I freaking dare you!  
"That concludes the tour." the guide said with an outstanding infomercial voice. Again he looked at Phil. "But first, I would like to ask Captain Canuck to step forward." Phil was shocked but cooperated.  
Captain Canuck eh? Keep going pal. Phil stood next to the guide and faced the group. The guide put his arm around Phil's shoulder. Dear God, haven't you ever heard of deodorant? Stop touching me, oh man I hope this washes off.  
"Now, uhh..."  
"Phil."  
"Phil. I need you to do me a big, BIG favour." Phil nodded.  
"Okay, I'll see what I can do." The guide grinned at the group.  
"Say 'out and about the house' just once, please." Phil sighed, he knew where this was going.  
"Out... and about... the house." The entire group roared with laughter. The guide held his sides as he struggled to stay standing.  
"You said 'oot and aboot the hoose'!" he laughed uncontrollably, as did most of the crowd. Phil smiled and again chuckled lightly.  
"Heh, yeah, good one man." Burn in Hell. 


	3. Chapter 3: Nice Hat

I own nothing at all  
  
Wow, I've gotten some really nice reviews already, thanks people, I hope to keep you entertained as the story moves on.  
  
Chapter 3: Nice Hat   
Tina regained her composure as Phil questioned himself as to why he was actually waiting for her.  
"You're too much!" Tina said, taking his arm and leading him down the hall towards the apartments.  
"Thanks, I think." he spoke with another social chuckle. He was also a little uneasy as to how quickly Tina just latched onto him, he didn't want people to think that he was actually WITH this airhead. He then sighed to himself. _Not that it matters I guess, I'm already the goofy Canadian.  
_ "Let me see your paper." Tina said more than asked, snatching it out of Phil's hand. "Let's see, you're in room 307. Hey that's right next door to daddy!"  
_ Dear Lord, there's TWO of them?_ Phil looked at his paper. "Daddy?" Tina nodded.  
"I'm sure you've heard of Bass Armstrong, undefeated world heavyweight champion." Phil smiled for real this time.  
"You mean the wrestler guy? He's your dad? That's pretty cool." _And right after I get his autograph I'm going to ask him what the hell he was thinking when he reproduced._ Tina smiled.  
"I'm sure he'll like you, he doesn't approve of most guys though."  
_Did that even make any sense? He'll like me, but not likely? And why do I need approval it's not like I'm trying to date you!_ Phil stopped thinking about it, all it accomplished was making his head hurt. They reached his room, and there he stood. Even bigger than he looked on television, he puffed on a cigarette, which looked more like a toothpick in his fingers. _Wow there he is and... wait a minute... is that a ten gallon hat? Great so now I have Britney Spears AND Pacos Bill._ He leaned against the wall of the hallway.  
"Daddy I want you to meet Phil, he'll be staying next door to you." Bass eyed Phil for a moment, then stuck out his hand.  
"Bass Armstrong." Phil shook his hand. Before he could introduce himself, Bass interrupted. "Now if you want to keep that hand, I recommend you not go around playing pussyfoot with my daughter, comprende?" Phil's eyes widened.  
_Pussyfoot? Dude I'm not playing ANYTHING with your daughter... please don't eat me._ Phil chuckled again, going with the comment, hoping that Bass wouldn't take it as Phil laughing AT him.  
"Now Daddy, Phil came all the way from Canada so be nice to him." Bass smiled now, acting more friendly.  
"Really? Y'all from Canada?"  
_Haven't we covered this already?_  
"Well golly son, welcome to the U.S. of A, you're in God's country now ya know." Phil nodded.  
"Thank you, sir." _Seriously dude, lose the hat, it's making me angry._ Bass shooed Tina away and followed Phil into his room. _Sure, yeah, come on in, make yourself comfortable._ Bass sat down in a lounge chair and put his feet up on a glass topped table. Phil sat in another lounge chair across from him, staring at the glass, waiting for it to crack.  
"So you're a Canuck, huh?" Phil nodded.  
"Indeed I am, sir." Bass chuckled as he pulled out another cigarette. _Oh come on man, not in my room, I have to sleep in here._ Bass sparked it and offered one to Phil, Phil raised his hand. "Thanks anyways."  
"So tell me." Bass began, scratching himself freely. "Y'all got the internet in Canada yet?" Phil was about to answer, then paused and decided to have some fun. He shook his head.  
"Oh, no, no, the internet isn't up there yet, hell we just got power in my neighborhood two months ago." Bass shook his head.  
"Well fancy that, you oughta check it out when it reaches your parts, son, darn fine resource."  
_Yeah you just like the porn._ "I will look into it, thank you." Bass raised the left side of his backside momentarily, then readjusted himself. _Oh dude you did NOT just do that in my room, you... you did._ Phil coughed lightly, Bass chuckled.  
"That oughta be a fan favorite." he said in a satisfied tone while he kept chuckling.  
_Man you just... I can't believe... I... you just farted in my room man! My room! And not just any fart... Geez man what did you eat?! I didn't know a human could create that kind of an odor!_ Bass stood up from his chair and stretched, scratching himself as he saw fit.  
"Well, on that note I oughta be heading down for some chow, ya wanna join me?" Phil fanned his nose with his hand and shook his head.  
"No, thank you, I really should unpack." _And bleach my room, cripes._ Bass tipped his hat and left the room. The second the door closed, Phil ran for the window and shot it open. _More air is needed!_ he thought to himself. He saw a large sliding door at the other end of his room and ran to that, throwing it open as well. The sliding door led to a very nice balcony with a beautiful view of the distant fields. The sun was setting over the mountains, and Phil stopped to admire the sight. The moment was ruined however by a loud crash. Phil glanced to his left. He saw a man standing on the next balcony, a clay jug lay broken on his balcony with liquid scattered. The man staggered and grumbled about the mess. He then looked up at Phil and tried to maintain his balance. He stumbled to the rail and leaned out. There was about a 10 foot gap between the balconies, but the drunken man leaned out over the railing regardless, motioning for Phil to come over. Phil slowly walked towards his railing, keeping his guard up. The man pulled a flask out from his belt and slammed back a mouthful of something strong in odor. Phil could smell it from his balcony. The man held it up in a motion of offering.  
"Hmm?" the drunk man grunted as he offered. Phil raised his hands to decline, but the man didn't lower the flask, he just kept pushing his arm out and grunting. Phil finally gave in and nodded. The man tossed the flask to him and Phil unplugged the cap. He took a whiff and instantly his eyes watered. He took a deep breath and allowed himself to take a sip of the contents. The burning sensation coated his mouth and throat and he gasped for air. The drunk laughed to himself while Phil tossed the flask back.  
"Thanks." Phil managed to squeak. The drunk leaned against the railing.  
"I Brad, Brad Wong." Phil nodded and waved, still unable to make an audible sound. "You American, no?" Phil shook his head.  
"No sir, Canadian." Brad laughed.  
"Ah ha, ah Canadian." Brad laughed again, then quickly gave Phil a crook-eyed look like he had caught Phil doing something he wasn't supposed to be doing. Brad just stared at him with that look, not moving, not even blinking. Phil began to walk away.  
"Well, I should be going." he said as he backed towards his door. He then realized Brad was still glaring at where Phil had been standing, even though Phil was no longer there. Phil slammed the sliding door closed and locked it, then paused. _Oh my God the smell is STILL here!

* * *

_The poor guy just can't seem to catch a break can he? Maybe next chapter Phil will have more luck, but not likely.


	4. Chapter 4: From Canada? Ya speak French?

I still own nothing  
  
Chapter 4: From Canada, ya speak French?   
Phil sat by himself at a table in the lounge. He flipped through a booklet that contained the names of all the fighters in the tournament and their fight dates. DOA had become very famous among fighters, and this year had brought out a record sity-eight participants.  
"Due to the overwhelming amount of entries in this year's tournament;" the first line of the booklet stated. "The first two rounds of the tournament will be single elimination tryout matches, last year's champion will receive a bye and will be entered directly into the tournament. The seventeen remaining fighters will stay for the double elimination tournament while the other fifty-one will be sent home immediately upon their losses. DOAtec ruling specifically states that no more than twenty combatants may be entered in the tournament, so tryouts will not fall under tournament rules, best of luck to all of you from your friends at DOAtec." Phil jumped when a hand suddenly thumped his table. He lowered the booklet to see Tina sitting across from him.  
"I see daddy let you live." she giggled, Phil nodded.   
_No, I died_. He kept reading the booklet. His first tryout match was tomorrow morning against an Englishman named Jared Dale.   
"So you're fighting a Brit in your opening match." Tina tried to make conversation, Phil nodded again. "I wouldn't be too worried, I've seen him, he doesn't look like much of a fighter." Tina then paused and smiled playfully. "But at least the British helped us in the war." Phil raised an eyebrow.  
_Oh she HAD to go there, didn't she?_ "Yeah, there wasn't really anything Canada could have done to help anyways. I mean let's face it, how helpful is a country that considers doughnuts and canisters of coffee to be crucial war time supplies?" he grinned as he spoke, Tina didn't get it. "You see, our top military vessel is called the Tim Horton, and our most popular doughnut chain is called Tim Horton's." Tina still stared blankly at him. "And all the ship carried was canisters of Tim Horton's coffee for the troops that fought." Tina looked like the lightbulb was starting to light up. "Okay, your ships had guns, ours didn't." Tina then smiled  
"Oooh I get it now." Phil envisioned himself flipping Tina a treat like a trainer and a performing animal.  
"Besides, look how tough we are, our flag is a leaf man, a leaf!" Tina started to laugh. "Oh yeah don't mess with us, we'll dry up and blow away on your ass." Tina now laughed louder, causing people to look at them.  
"You're funny for a Canuck, I like you." Tina said with a wink, Phil smiled with discomfort.  
_I'm a disgrace to my nation._ A tall, dark man came up behind Tina and covered her eyes with his hands.  
"Guess who?" Tina's smile grew larger. She stood up quickly and hugged Zack.  
"Zack, this guy came all the way from Canada." Zack looked a little confused for a moment.  
"Uhh, parle englais?" Zack said nervously, Phil sighed.  
"Yes I speak English." Zack then nodded and smiled obnoxiously.  
"Whoa, ya do, pretty good to."  
_Pretty well_. Zack pulled up a chair and put his feet up on the table, it seemed to be a common practice here.  
"So you're from Canada, ya speak French?" Phil paused then nodded.  
"Oh yeah... yeah... sakala hooba doo..." he faked an overdone French accent. "Oh yeah, I'm perfectly bilingual, we all are." Zack smiled.  
"Man, that's tight." Phil nodded and kept the smile on his face... he didn't speak French. Like all Ontarians he only spoke high school French at best. Five years and all he remembered was one set of words. Zack then looked like a bright idea hit him. "Hold the phone." Zack stood up and glanced around the room. "Helena!" he shouted with his hands cupped over his mouth. Everyone in the room stared at Zack. "Yo, come here a sec." Phil blushed slightly as a lovely young blonde lady walked over towards their table. She seemed much more sophisticated than anyone else at the table. She sat with a business woman's face and looked at Zack like she was greatly burdened by being called over.  
_Helloooo nurse._ Zack pointed at Phil.  
"Helena, this dude talks French and stuff." Helena looked somewhat pleased and faced Phil.  
"Bonjour." her voice was very soothing, Phil finally stopped blushing.  
"Bonjour." he echoed back. Helena looked a little suspicious.  
"Comment ca va?" Phil grinned sheepishly.  
"Oh, Je suis, Tu es, Il est..." Zack laughed and grabbed Tina's thigh.  
"Well these two are hitting it off, let's go have some fun Tina." With that the American pair walked away, leaving Phil with Helena. Helena still stared at him.  
"What's your problem?" she said harshly. "I am, you are, he is, put a sentence together, what's wrong with you?" Phil sighed, the nervous grin couldn't be removed from his face though.  
"I'm sorry." _Yeah way to go idiot, good first impression._ Helena placed her cheek in her hand and leaned lazily on the tabletop.  
"So I'm going to assume you're not from France." Phil nodded.  
"Yeah, I mean no. I mean yeah you're right, no I'm not from France." Helena finally smiled, making Phil feel less stupid.  
"Sounds like you're also not too hot at English." Phil shook his head with a laugh, Helena had zinged him well. "You're not from around here either though I assume." Phil shook his head. "I assumed that when you said 'I'm sorry' instead of 'whaaat?'." Helena faked a thick southern accent when she said "what".   
_ Marry me, right now_. Phil leaned forward on his elbows.  
"I'm from Canada, Toronto." Helena shook her head slightly.  
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." Phil looked dumbfounded, Helena smiled and kicked his shin from under the table. "I'm kidding." Phil nodded and smiled, trying to act as least like a goof as possible.   
"So, who was that guy? The loud, obnoxious one?" Helena smiled pleasantly.   
"That is Zack, last year's tournament champion." Phil was a little shocked that guy won the whole thing. "He's had a crush on Tina for as long as I've known him, and she never even would give him the time of day. Since he won the tournament though and made his fortune in Vegas, she runs to his side every chance she gets." Helena snickered to herself. "The rest of us just don't have the heart to tell her that he lost everything with that terrible island scam." Phil gave an inquiring look.  
"Island scam?" he genuinely didn't know what was going on. Helena shook her head and giggled about the memories.  
"Well, he bought this island with his winnings, and invited us for the fourth Dead Or Alive tournament, but when we got there, we realized he had only invited the women. Turned out it wasn't the tournament at all, but just an excuse for him to watch us parading around in bikinis for two weeks."  
_Wow, I don't know if that's really creepy, or incredibly brilliant._ "Really? That's, well, different." Helena nodded.  
"Yeah, we all avoided him as best we could, except Tina, who had competition with his new girlfriend Niki. In a nutshell, once everyone left, a volcano trashed the island, Niki took off with what little money Zack had left, leaving him with the clothes on his back and a very low bank account." Helena started to chuckle again. "He told Tina that they only broke up, she has no idea of what really happened." Phil laughed lightly as well, it was a pretty bizarre story, but somehow he had little trouble believing it. "Well, I'm going to go and have a nice hot shower." She stretched once she stood, Phil eyed her. Her tight pants and tanktop left very little to the imagination, then the comment of a shower was just plain teasing. Helena then looked down and caught him checking her out. She laughed lightly. "Nothing personal, tiger. You're nice enough, but I'm a little out of your league."  
_Whoa ouch_. Phil nodded and apologized, promising it wouldn't happen again. _Out of my league nothing, you're not even in the same area code as my league._

* * *

Phil's adventures seem to be going from strange to stranger as he meets the DOA crew. What antics await the next chapter? Find out soon!


	5. Chapter 5: Step in the Ring

I have not come into great heaps of money since last chapter, so I still own nothing, Tecmo owns everything.  
  
Chapter 5: Step into the Ring   
Phil paced back and forth in the arena while he waited for the arrival of his first opponent. He yawned periodically, as he had not gotten much sleep living between a rowdy wrestler and a drunk who insisted on playing loud Chinese techno at two in the morning. The DOAtec apartments were more like a frat house the previous night, at least on his floor. He was not aware that it was tradition for some of the participants to party themselves stupid on the first night. He had gone out to socialize a bit, but he knew he had an early morning. He also had decided to pack it in for the night when a very inebriated Bass began to chase Zack through the halls with a lamp. All in all it was a humourous evening, but a drain nonetheless. Finally another man walked into the arena. The fighter removed his leather jacket and dropped it on the floor. Phil analyzed his opponent as he approached.  
_Cut blue jean shorts, Doc Martin boots, sleeveless 'The Clash' shirt, this guy seems alright._ The Englishman stopped in front of Phil and nodded. Phil returned the nod.  
"Phil Conners." the Brit looked at him plainly.  
"Yeah I know who ya are, I 'ave read the booklet." Phil nooded. "Besides, you were the 'out and about the house' guy right?"  
_Damn it!_ "Heh, yeah, yeah that's me." The Brit smirked.  
"Jared Dale, sorry to be the one that 'asta send ya 'ome." Phil smirked back.  
"Yeah we'll see." An official finally came through a door at the far side of the arena and sped over in a golf cart. _Shotgun!_  
"Phil Conners and Jared Dale?" the official asked quickly. Both men nodded. The official looked over at Jared. "You are late this morning, Mr. Dale, if you have any more matches please try to be prompt." Jared put his middle finger in the official's face, the official didn't seem phased. "That's lovely, I have a pair of those to. Now let me just check my papers here, I need your signatures so that if you guys injure each other DOAtec is in no way responsible." He found a sheet and had them both sign it. "Now your styles are..." he scanned the paper. "Mr. Dale, street fighting?" Jared nodded with a sneer. "Why does that not surprise me? Aaaaand Mr. Conners... blackbelts in both Hepkido and Kapwaeda?" Phil nodded slowly. The official looked sincerely impressed. "That's quite a resume, you have a lot of free time on your hands."  
_I'd rather call it dedication, you clown._ "Yes sir, I guess I do." The official checked off some boxes on the paper.  
"Well I guess with it being so cold up there, there wouldn't be much else TO do, huh?"  
_Oh yeah_ y_eah, make a cold weather joke, real original pal._  
"Alright gentlemen, as you read in your booklets, these matches are not sanctioned by DOAtec so no rules apply, do whatever you must to get into the tournament. Officials will only be standing by in the event of a submission, knock out or if medical attention is required. Best of luck to you both, and come out fighting." The official sped away in his golf cart and parked at the far end of the arena. Phil and Jared looked at one another and waited for the signal to go. A loud buzzer echoed through the arena and the combatants were off. Jared threw a haymaker right away. Phil grabbed Jared's arm and quickly thrust him downwards into the ground in a quick three hit combination. While Jared was on his back he shot up with his foot. Phil then grabbed the foot and kicked the back of Jared's knee. Phil spun around Jared as he got up and locked an armbar on him. While Jared flailed to break the hold, Phil took liberties with his knee into Jared's hip. Jared's elbow collided with the side of Phil's head, knocking his hat off. Phil pushed Jared away and connected with another quick combination of a backhand, a downward punch and an uppercut. Jared was on his back again and Phil crouched over him. Phil could feel the sting of the elbow and wanted to end this early before the spot on his head had a chance to swell too badly. He swung fast elbow shots across Jared's face and the Brit quickly tapped out. Phil got off his opponent and put his hat back on. The official came back over in his golf cart.  
"Congratulations Mr. Conners. You will be proceeding to the next round, your opponent will be Jorge Mendez. I recommend you stay loose as your next match is in an hour. As for you Mr. Dale, please hop in the cart, we're taking you home." Phil helped Jared to his feet and they shook hands.  
"You took me to school, mate. Best of luck to ya."  
"Thank you." _Damn I kinda liked this guy to.  
_  
Phil paced in the locker room, the day started with sixty-eight entries, and now they were down to thirty-four, and by the end of the afternoon it would be only a select seventeen. He stretched frequently, trying to keep himself warmed up. Another man soon joined Phil in the locker room. He was a muscular Chinaman, lightly sweating.  
"Getting ready for your second match?" Phil asked politely. The Chinaman glared at him, but did not answer, he simply unlocked his locker and fetched a towel and soap. Phil nodded to himself. "Well, good luck to you anyways, eh?" The Chinaman scoffed at him.  
"I've already finished my second match, now shut up."  
_Whoa, easy there captain intensity._ Phil didn't like this man's tone, but he was impressed that this man had won 2 matches already and was not the least bit marked up or fatigued. "Well then I'll see you in the tournament." Phil nodded as he walked out the door.  
"Whatever." Phil shook his head to ignore the man's rudeness.  
  
Phil's second match went very much like his first. Tight defensive maneuvers finished off his opponents in short order, he couldn't believe his ears when the official shook his hand and said "Welcome to the fourth Dead Or Alive tournament." He was ecstatic, he thought for sure he would not make it in the first year he tried out, but here he was, the newest combatant in the Dead Or Alive tournament.

* * *

So Phil is now in! A new adventure begins now. What will the next day hold? Who will his first opponent be? Will Jann-Lee always be such a prick? Stay tuned! 


	6. Chapter 6: Ding Ding Ding

Huge thanks going out to Mask, thank you for your constant encouragement and to Razzbairee for your kind words, I hope you will continue to enjoy the story.  
  
I own nothing, so stop looking at me like that  
  
Chapter 6: Ding Ding Ding   
The hot shower felt great to Phil, he stood under the showerhead for twenty minutes, just letting the steam take his aches away. One change of clothes later he was on his way to the lounge. He walked through the big double doors and found the lounge a lot less crowded now. He sat down on a leather sofa and smiled as he sank into it. He then put his feet up and lay down on the sofa. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the comfort, but it was short-lived. He felt a hand smack his knees lightly.  
"Make some room." Phil opened his eyes and saw Helena smirking at him. He quickly pulled his legs off the sofa and motioned for her to sit. She sat at the other end and they began to make small talk, small talk began turning into discussion, and soon they were sharing with each other what they did for a living, things they enjoyed in their free time and the like. The room was slowly starting to fill as the day grew later. "So, how does it feel to be the new guy?" Helena asked. Phil smirked.  
"Hasn't really sunk in yet, though 'new guy' is better than 'goofy Canadian guy' any day." he admitted. Helena stretched out her legs and laid them across Phil's. She closed her eyes and apparently fell asleep almost right away. _You bloody tease_. Phil carefully slid his legs out from under Helena's and put a nearby blanket over her. He walked around the room, admiring the décor, DOAtec spared no expense. He slowly made his way over to a pool table where a large man cleared the table. "Hi there." Phil said. The man looked up at him and made no sound. Phil grimaced and nodded. _That would be my cue to leave before sasquatch guts me_. He kept walking around the other rooms of the lounge until he came to a quiet sitting room. More leather sofas welcomed him. _Right on_ he thought. He stretched out in another sofa and watched the fireplace. He heard footsteps coming into the room and he looked over his shoulder.  
"Oh, I'm sorry I didn't know anyone was here." An aged man stood in the doorway. Phil gestured with his hand for the old man to come in. The older man sat in a lounge chair across from Phil. "I am Gen fu, and you are?" Phil sat up to shake Gen Fu's hand.  
"Phil Conners." Gen Fu smiled through his thick beard.  
"Ah yes, you are the Canadian fellow."  
_That's it! I quit! If this guy starts I swear...  
_ "It is a pleasure to meet you, Phil. Tell me, what brings you to the tournament?" Phil was astonished, it looked like he was about to have a real, intelligent conversation.  
"Well, the money definitely sounded good, but more so just to say I did it, you know? This tournament has so much prestige, the fact I'm even IN it is an honour, so that and the money... yeah..." Gen Fu nodded quietly.  
"The money is good, I must admit." The old man sighed heavily. Phil looked at him.  
"Why are you here, master Gen Fu?" Gen Fu chuckled lightly.  
"Please, just Gen Fu will do. I am here to collect money for an operation my granddaughter needs. Every year I try, but I fail." Gen Fu lowered his head in shame. "Every year she gets weaker, I fear she can not stand to let me fail too much longer." Phil nodded, he envisioned a little china doll of a child, clearly very precious to this old man.  
"That's rough, what's wrong with her? If you don't mind me asking." Gen Fu sighed again.  
"It is a rare disease, doctors are not sure of what exactly it is, but they have found where it stems from, and if they can remove or repair those organs, she will live, she will grow up and become a beautiful young woman." Phil nodded quietly, the orange glow of the fireplace gleamed off his face. He took off his hat and placed it on the floor next to the sofa. He thought about the situation, envisioning himself as a parent or grandparent, looking at a precious child who's days were numbered. The thoughts made him choke a little, his ambitions seemed so worthless and shallow compared to this man's selfless and honourable act.  
"I'll tell you what, if I win this tournament, tell me how much you need, I will do whatever I can to help." Gen Fu looked up in surprise.  
"You would do that for me?" Phil nodded. "You are too kind, I thank you." Phil smirked.  
"Hey, I'm Canadian, I'm supposed to be nice, remember?"  
"Yo everybody, the partay has arrived!" A loud voice echoed through the lounge, Gen Fu rolled his eyes.  
"Oh no, HIM." Phil recognized Zack's voice and decided to go be as social as he could be. He walked into the main room of the lounge, there stood Zack with Tina firmly on his arm.  
"Yo it's the Canuck! I heard ya made it in." Zack made some strange arm gestures to Phil as he approached. "So I never did catch your name."  
_Man, I'M going to hate my name by the end of this_. "Phil Conners." Zack grinned obnoxiously.  
"Phil?" Phil nodded. "Phil?" Zack asked again, Phil gave a confused look. "Seriously yo, is that your real name? Phil?"  
_Shut up, honestly, shut up.  
_ "Damn yo I thought I had it rough, ah well you are from up North so we don't blame ya."  
_The hell is that supposed to mean?_ Zack pointed at Phil and got the attention of those in the room.  
"Hey all y'all, this here be the new guy..."  
_This IS the new guy.  
_ "He came all the way from Canada, why don't everyone say hey to Phil here?" Everyone gave some lazy waves.  
_Seriously dude, I appreciate the gesture, but knock it off.  
_ "Yeah man we'll treat ya real good here, heh heh, no doot aboot it."  
_Oh that's it that is it!  
_ "Tell ya what homes, come on I'll buy ya a beer, better than that crap you guys have up there."  
_What?! Canadian beer is crap?! Game on!_ Phil nodded and smiled, then grabbed the back of Zack's head and stuck him in a headlock. Zack yelped in confusion as Phil grabbed Zack's polo shirt and pulled it over his head and filled him with some harmless right fists. Zack finally stood up straight, but Phil had both his arms tied in his shirt and gave him a few quick sucker punches, more just to humiliate him than hurt him. Soon Phil felt Bass' arms grab Phil and pull him away.  
"Get off him!" Bass screamed as he placed Phil away from Zack. Bass stared down at Phil in a disciplining way. "You oughta know better." Phil looked down and nodded. "I wanted to get him!" Zack yelped and took off while Bass followed in hot pursuit. Tina looked at Phil in shock.  
"What has gotten into you?!" she shrieked as she took off after Zack and Bass. Phil stood there and caught his breath.  
_Damn that felt good._ He noticed the room staring at him in a silent shock, several mouths hung open.  
"Outstanding!" a raspy voice shouted in approval. Phil looked towards the side room and saw Gen Fu standing there with his arm up in approval, the rest of the people in the room laughed and went back about their business. Phil saw Brad walk towards him, no stagger or anything. Brad patted his shoulder.  
"Funny, I like, tonight I drink to you." Phil smiled politely while Brad walked out.

* * *

Phil finally has reached his boiling point, will he be more mellowed out now, or is this just the start of things to come? Plus, what will happen when he meets the rest of the DOA crew?


	7. Chapter 7: One of the Gang

Tecmo owns everything and everyone mentioned in this chapter  
  
Chapter 7: One of the Gang   
He decided now that he was known he may as well stop hiding in the side room. He looked for a place to sit, but all the sofas were occupied.  
"You can sit here if you would like." Phil looked down and saw a pair of big blue eyes looking up at him. He sat down next to the brunette and nodded as a thank you. "I just want to be the first to say that was hilarious." she said shyly, it looked like she was slightly flustered with Phil's presense. Phil smiled.  
"Thanks, that's doesn't happen usually, so I hope I didn't cause any trouble." The brunette laughed.  
"No, it couldn't have happened to a better guy, Zack's a creep." Phil nodded in agreement. "I'm Hitomi by the way, and yes I know you're Phil." Phil was thankful he didn't have to introduce himself again. Hitomi was writing in a binder, Phil craned his neck to see what she was writing.  
_Is that homework? Man I thought she looked young but damn._ Hitomi sighed.  
"Yes, this is homework, math. I graduate from high school this year, I can't wait."  
_High school? Do your mommy and daddy know you're here?_ Hitomi stretched and closed the binder.  
"That's enough for tonight, so what brings you here?" They started with small chitchat, but it soon developed into some more good conversation. Phil was finally starting to feel like he belonged, first Helena and Gen Fu and now Hitomi, he was starting to become one of the gang. They talked for quite a while, Phil made sure nothing he said could be taken as flirty in any way shape or form, since back home she would still be considered illegal. Phil began to look around the room. The large man who was at the pool table earlier now sat by another fireplace, reading a thick book.  
"That's Leon." Hitomi said. Phil looked at her. "He's pretty quiet, doesn't like people too much, but a heck of a competitor." Phil studied Leon, the large Italian wore a constant scowl on his face, a never ending mask of anger on him.  
_Hmm, anyone I know who's always angry is usually trying to hide something else._ Phil noticed another large man playing a game of cards with a slender lady with bright platinum hair.  
"Bayman and Christie." Hitomi continued. "They're both assassins, but they can't harm each other or anyone else here as long as we are under DOAtec rules, unless it is in a match." Christie sat in a pair of black leather pants and a very tight shiny black turtle necked shirt. The outfit contrasted very well with her platinum hair. Bayman on the other hand was far less stylish, though the white muscle shirt and blue jeans was enough to make him look intimidating.   
_Alright, avoid the mourner and the angry Russian, got it_.   
"I'm not entirely sure why Christie is here again this year, she made her peace with Helena, but Bayman is another story." Phil looked back at Hitomi. "He wants Donavon dead, and Donavon has offered Bayman a shot at him if he can win the tournament." Phil was a little confused.  
"Donavon lets a man who wants him dead into his tournament?" Hitomi nodded.  
"Bayman's arena matches always attract big draws, which makes Donavon very rich." Phil didn't say anything. "Arena matches are off-season or non sanctioned matches outside the tournament. Actual tournament matches will be fought in manmade atmospheres that replicate a certain type of landscape, but other matches, or 'grudge matches' as they've been called take place inside the arena where our tryout fights happened."  
_Wow could this BE any more complicated? There's no going to be a test on this will there?_ Phil nodded. "I think I got it." He kept looking around the room, he saw the Chinaman from earlier. _There's the prick from the locker room_. Phil made a motion towards him, Hitomi rolled her eyes.  
"That's Jann Lee, he claims to be the greatest fighter alive, and he calls himself 'The Dragon'."  
_Wow, a Chinese martial artist calling himself 'The Dragon', real original buddy, did you think that up all by yourself or did mommy and daddy help you?_ Hitomi continued,  
"Every year he enters the tournament, bragging how this year will be his year, and every year he gets eliminated, then afterwards he complains about it and asks for grudge match after grudge match. He is a good fighter, he was my first loss last year, but his ego keeps him from getting to that next level." Phil nodded, taking mental notes. A Chinese girl came and sat next to Jann Lee, they did not exchange words though. "That's Leifang, she's my friend, really nice, but very conflicted." Phil chuckled.  
"How so?"  
"Well, she's obsessed with Jann Lee." Phil nodded, he could understand that, Jann wasn't a bad looking guy. "And not just like that, like her entire life revolves around him." Now Phil was curious. "She is obsessed with finally defeating him someday to prove she's better than him, and once she beats him, she wants to declare her love to him." Phil laughed.  
"Oh come on, she wants to beat him, so she can win his love?" _So she's basically kicking her competition's ass for Jann Lee's attention, but her competition is Jann Lee himself? Could one pair of people be any more screwed up?_ Hitomi giggled lightly and nodded.  
"No joke, I feel bad for her at times." Phil nodded to agree with her statement.  
_So avoid the psycho chick and her prick boyfriend, check._

* * *

Sorry to all readers if I have offended you with my interpretations of the DOA characters, it's all in good fun right? Ah well, keep on reading please. 


	8. Chapter 8: Complicated

Tecmo owns all characters, Dr. Suess owns the Grinch and Who-Ville... no I'm serious they're in this.  
  
Chapter 8: Complicated   
Phil's eyes still scanned the room until they stopped on a young lady sitting quietly in a lounge chair, reading to herself. Her auburn hair hung down over her shoulders and short bangs hung by her eyes.   
_Whoa hello, what have we here?_ Hitomi smiled and shoved Phil's shoulder, Phil regained his composure and cleared his throat.  
"Yeah most guys do think Kasumi is cute, don't worry about it." Phil nodded slowly.  
_Okay so what's HER story? What is Hitomi going to say to ruin this for me? She's going to tell me that this girl's an alien from Mars? Or radioactive? Or a radioactive alien from Mars or something?  
_ "She's a runaway shinobi, so I would advise you not to get too close." Phil looked at her.  
_ Is that it? I-_ The sound of a door slamming against the walls caused everyone to jump. A tall, scowling man with brown hair stormed into the room, followed by a slim young woman with lavender hair. _Whoa, it's the Grinch and a citizen of Who-Ville._ The pair stopped in front of Kasumi and began screaming at her in Japanese, she simply ignored them and kept reading.  
"That's Hayate and Ayane, the leaders of her former ninja clan." Phil watched very closely, this may have been more serious than he first thought. "They want her dead, but like the assassins, they can't kill her while we're under DOAtec lodging, unless they want a full army storming in here with huge guns." Part of Phil told him to stand up and tell them to back off, but before he could stand, the situation was stopped. Another male stepped out of a side room and stood behind Kasumi's chair, coldly staring at Hayate. The room started to clear out, Hitomi grabbed Phil's arm. "This may turn nasty, we should get out of here. They're not allowed to touch each other outside of matches, but they may decide to not follow that rule." Phil stared at the new arrival.  
"Who is that first?" Phil was mesmerized, something about this man made him stand out, like an invisible aura of power flowed around him. Hitomi urged Phil to at least come into a side room so they wouldn't be seen. They quickly walked into another room and watched through the one way glass.  
"That, is Ryu Hayabusa." Hitomi said quietly. Phil stared out through the window. "He was the winner of the first two tournaments, and the runner- up last year." Phil nodded slowly. He was amazed by the way the entire atmosphere of the room changed when he entered, like something about him demanded reverence.  
"How the hell did Zack beat him?" Phil asked in reference to last year's championship, Hitomi shrugged.   
"Luck is all I can think of." Phil turned from Hitomi and looked back out the window. Helena had finally woken up and slowly walked out of the room, eyeing Ayane every step of the way, her glare was chilling.  
"So what's the story here?" Hitomi took a deep breath.  
"Okay, but don't forget, you asked. Hayate went missing a long time ago, Kasumi went looking for him. Kasumi, Hayate and Ayane are all siblings. Hayate had been brainwashed or something and went by the name Ein, where he actually studied Karate under my father." Hitomi took another deep breath. "Before Hayate disappeared, he asked Ryu, his then best friend, to watch over Kasumi in case anything ever happened to him. So In the second tournament, Hayate entered as Ein. Ryu beat him and his memory returned." Hitomi went for another breath  
_Holy crap girl, slow down you're losing me_  
"So Hayate went on to take over the ninja clan again, but by then Kasumi had abandoned her clan, so Ayane led assassins to kill her. Once Hayate returned, he knew it was their tradition to kill any turncoats, so he also wants her dead. Now, Ryu has been keeping his word and protecting Kasumi, which unfortunately now has lead to Hayate and himself parting ways; and on top of all that there have been whispers that Kasumi and Ryu have become romantically involved, though there is no proof yet, but that just fuels the fire." Phil stared at her with the blankest expression he had ever worn.  
_Dear God, that is the most complicated thing anyone has ever said to me in my life, my brain has actually ceased to function from trying to register all that information. If you were to try to put any more info into my brain for the rest of the night, my head will in fact explode._ He finally spoke. "So what you're telling me is that I really don't want to get involved if I know what's good for me." Hitomi nodded.  
"More or less, yeah."   
"And how do YOU know so much about this?" he asked her suspiciously, "Are you some ninja spy girl or something?" Hitomi muffled her giggle. "No, Kasumi and I talked a while on Zack island and she filled me in there." Phil exhaled loudly as the ninjas continued the stare-down.  
_So, steer clear of lunatic pixie and her ungrateful brother who wants to kill hot she-ninja with the most intimidating boyfriend ever to live._ Hitomi began to pull Phil towards a rear exit. "So Hitomi, who CAN I talk to?" Hitomi put her arm around his shoulder. _Get your arm off me, I'm not going to jail for you.  
_ "Well, me of course. Helena is nice, but kind of arrogant at times, she's rich so it's not her fault. Gen Fu is really a nice old man, but he always talks about his granddaughter. Tina is really nice, I get along with her great, same with Leifang, just all she ever wants to talk about is Jann Lee. Bass you can talk to, but he's an acquired taste." Phil sighed heavily, Hitomi smiled. "Hey we like you, don't worry. Who wouldn't like a crazy Canuck?"  
_Dah, WHAT?! After all these people with all these issues I'M the crazy one?!_

* * *

I guess I now owe an apology to Hayate and Ayane fans now for mocking them... I'm sorry Ayane fans... I don't like Hayate, I apologize for nothing =D  
So what will happen next now that Phil is armed with information about the DOA crew? Read on and find out. 


	9. Chapter 9: Moving Out

Alrighty, this chapter marks the beginning of the transition from humour fic to an actual storyline, so be prepared, I hope you will still like it regardless  
  
Don't look at me, Tecmo owns this stuff  
  
Chapter 9: Moving Out   
The following morning, the remaining competitors in the tournament were transported from the large apartment complex to a very extravagant new complex. There were fifty rooms total in the entire building, and every one of them a luxury suite. The building was a perfect square, with an open-air patio, pool and recreational facilities placed in the middle. Phil sat in a soft lounge chair that he dragged out to his balcony. He missed the view of the fields that his old room had, granted his new room was beyond his dreams of luxury, but the new view seemed to leave a lot to be desired. A loud knock came from his door, causing him to sigh as he pulled himself out of his comfort. He unlocked his door and opened it. Bass stood in the door with a fat cigar polluting the hall.  
"So whattaya think, boy? Welcome to the competitor's suites." Phil smirked.  
"They are quite nice." he said. "Though the view does lack a little." Bass tilted his head and walked out to Phil's balcony. Down below, Hitomi and Leifang splashed and play-fought in the pool. Bass put his hands on his hips and looked down at Phil.  
"You call this a bad view? You're just picky m'boy." Phil smirked and shook his head.  
_Dude, one would wind me up in an orange jumpsuit, the other is insane, no way I'm going to stare at them all afternoon._ Bass walked back into Phil's room and laid out on Phil's couch, leaving dirt from his shoes on the carpet. The cigar's smoke thickened the air almost immediately, Phil slightly cleared his throat.  
"Oh, you heard that one?" Phil looked frightened.  
_Heard what? I was clearing my throat from the smoke._ Bass chuckled and stood up.  
"Guess I oughta leave, see ya later kid." Phil watched Bass leave.  
_Huh? What just happened? Wha..._ Then the smell hit Phil, changing the look on his face immediately. _Dah.... Augh... that son of a bitch I'll kill him!  
_  
Hours later the sun had set, Phil still sat on the balcony, thinking about his fellow competitors and all the different backgrounds he had learned from them. Partially to devise a strategy on how to combat them, secondly to review just what the heck he had gotten himself into. His phone rang, causing him to snap back to reality. He lifted the receiver and held it to his ear.  
"Hello?" he said calmly into the phone.  
"Hi." a gentle voice said back. Phil waited for more, but there wasn't anything.  
"May I ask who's calling?" he said in a businesslike manner, the voice on the other end sighed.  
"It's Helena."  
_Huh? What? She's calling me??_ Phil quickly paid attention. "Yeah, what's up?" he made sure to keep his voice friendly, but not too much. There was a drawn out pause again.  
"I... I just wanted to talk." Phil was silent. "Are you still there?"  
"Yeah, yeah I am. What do you want to talk about?" he was so very confused.  
"Well, I guess nothing specifically, I think I just want someone to talk to." Her voice quivered a bit. Phil sat up straight.  
"Want to talk to someone, or need to talk to someone?" Again Helena paused.  
"Both I guess, you don't mind do you?" Phil leaned forward on his knees.  
"Of course not, what's wrong? Homesick or something?" Helena sighed on the other end.  
"Look, do you want to come over to my room?" Phil didn't reply. Helena's voice swayed again. "Oh geez, that must have sounded bad, I don't mean in that sort of way, I mean to talk." Phil nodded to himself.  
"Sure, yeah. What room is yours?"  
"Room 418." Phil hung up and stood from his chair. He then looked out across the courtyard and at the wall across his balcony. Helena's room was one floor up and one room to the right of the room directly across from his, he only figured that out because he saw her walk by her window to hang up the phone.

* * *

Uh oh, impending storyline coming! Brace yourselves! Phil is about to find out about Helena's past. What could be eating at her so badly that she would call him? I guess you'll have to read more to find out. 


	10. Chapter 10: Someone to Rely On

Everything = owned by Tecmo  
nothing = owned by me  
  
Chapter 10: Someone to Rely On   
Phil exhaled deeply before he knocked the door.  
"I hope you know what you're doing." he said out loud to himself. He rapped the door with his knuckles and within seconds Helena stood in the doorway. _Cute... damn it Phil she's been crying, stop it!_ He chastised himself for even thinking of checking her out while she had clearly been crying. He came in and sat on a plush sofa.  
"Do you want some tea or anything?" Phil nodded.  
"Sure, do you have any Earl Grey?" Helena sighed.  
"Yeah, heh, you North Americans and your Earl Grey." Phil took advantage of the slight smile she let cross her lips.  
"Would you recommend something else?" Helena looked at him curiously and raised an eyebrow. "Tell you what, I'll try whatever it is you're having." Helena chuckled lightly and put on the kettle, then came back and sat next to Phil. "So what's up?" Helena then looked serious again, there seemed to be a new heaviness about her, the arrogant, sometimes even bitchy Helena was nowhere to be seen. Now a different woman was there, she seemed very distressed, even scared to an extent.  
"I don't know, I just wanted some company I guess." she said quietly.  
"I'm not buying that, what's on your mind?"  
"Why would you think there was-"  
"What's on your mind?" Phil repeated. "It's pretty obvious that there's something bugging you, the ears are open, what's on your mind?" Helena sighed again.  
"Ayane." Helena said with a snarl. Phil didn't say anything.  
_The evil elf from last night? What does she have to do with anything?_ Phil handed her the tissue box she had been carrying around. "Go on."  
"Ayane... killed my mother, four years ago." Phil let out a pained breath like he had been hit in the stomach.  
"I'm sorry Helena, I didn't know." Helena slid closer to Phil and put her head down into his shoulder, he felt her tears moisten his sleeve.  
"I was on stage, singing. The bullet was meant for me, I know it was, but my mother... somehow she saw it coming, and took the bullet for me." Phil wasn't sure what to do at this moment, he slowly placed his hand on the back of her head and lowered his face into the top of her hair. "All I knew at the time was the loud crack of the gun, falling down, and my mother's blood on me." She trembled now, she also brought her hands up around his arm, squeezing desperately. "I miss my mother Phil, I miss her so much." Helena's words made Phil's eyes water slightly also. He to had lost his parents when he was young, but not in such a violent fashion. She regained herself slightly and pulled her face out of his shoulder. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be putting this on you." Phil shook his head.  
"No, it's okay." She sniffed slightly, trying so hard to remain proper as her eyes were reddened and blotchy. "Have you talked to anyone else about this?" Helena shook her head.  
"No, I'm going to be honest with you Phil, I think you're the first person I've met in this damn tournament who I think I can call a friend. I know we just met and all but I get a good feeling from you, I feel secure around you. Some of the other people are nice and all, but I don't know, I don't trust them." Phil left her side momentarily as her kettle whistled, he quickly came back with the tea.  
"So." he started, "Are you saying you trust me?" Helena wiped her eyes with a tissue.  
"Phil, you have been nothing but a gentleman to me and seem to be the only male I've spoken to who respects me as a person and not a sex object." Phil felt like a heel inside.  
_Oops.  
_ "The truth is, I, I have so much, but I have no one. My mother was all I had, and life without her has been so empty, I guess I'm finally allowing myself to realize that I need companionship." Phil listened closely then spoke.  
"You have nobody at all?" Helena shrugged.  
"I have a dog, he's all well and good, but it's no replacement for another human being to talk and laugh with, you know?"  
_Dude you are so in, this is your chance. Shut up!_ he argued with himself. He poured some milk into his tea, trying to cover the heavy sweetness of the French specialty beverage.  
"I don't have anyone who I call a friend, and in the last couple days, you've treated me better than people I've known for years. Look I don't want you to think I'm trying to get you to eliminate Ayane for me, I want that bitch for myself, I've just been so..."  
"Lonely?" Phil asked, hoping he was filling in the right word. Helena nodded.  
"I just wish I had a friend sometimes, you know? When I'm not here I'm always doing my singing, which puts me in this lifestyle where I'm surrounded by people who only want to be near me for what I am, not who I am. Just once I would like sometime to be my friend because they actually like ME." Phil nodded. "And, I guess I should thank you for giving me that much even if it has been with small talk. The fact that someone wants to listen to me and talk to me because they're interested in what I have to say and how I feel... it makes me feel like a real person." She leaned out and hugged him tightly and buried her face in his shoulder again. "Even now just listening to me have my little tantrum has shown me that I can call you a friend, and you being my friend is one of the greatest treasures you could ever give me." Phil hesitated then took her in his arms and ran his hand through her hair, trying to comfort her, all the while arguing with himself,  
_Friend?! FRIEND?!? The hell is THAT about? Okay okay I guess friend is a good way to get started. What do you mean?? She needs a friend right now, not some guy trying to jump her. Oh lighten UP!

* * *

_I think every guy reading this story can relate to poor Phil right about now. So now that the plot has thickened, what next? Keep on reading, there WILL be more fighting in the upcoming chapters I assure you.


	11. Chapter 11: Battle then Business

First off, huge thank you to Mask, you are so encouraging. Get my Email from my bio, I'd love to be able to thank you directly.  
  
As always, I own nothing  
  
Chapter 11: Battle then Business   
Phil yawned as the elevator took him to his first match. He didn't sleep well the night before. He had stayed awake nearly all night trying to think of a way to help Helena with her situation regarding Ayane, and about an hour before his first match the idea hit him. He was honestly nervous as he looked down at the slip of paper in his hand, Ryu Hayabusa was his first opponent, not a fight he was looking forward to, but the meeting with him was. The elevator doors slid open and Phil stepped out into the long stainless steel hallway. At the end was a set of sliding doors, once they opened, he saw an artificial field of machine-made snow.   
_Oh very funny, sure send the Canadian into a snow field_ he thought to himself. He was impressed though as he stepped through the doors into the field, had he not known better, he would be convinced he was in a snowy forest and not some large floor of a huge building with artificial climates. He stood in the arena, awaiting Ryu's arrival. He noticed a small cyclone begin to swirl about twenty feet away from him. The funnel of snow grew taller and more fierce then seemingly out of nowhere, Ryu slammed into the ground in a crouched position, eyeing Phil._ yeah... that's the most intimidating entrance I have ever seen._ Ryu stood slowly, never taking his eyes off Phil, not even blinking. Ryu stood in standard light ninja combat attire, but he had left his head uncovered for the fight. _Yeah, the hair has gotta go though man. If you couldn't kill me in two seconds, then kill me again sixty-four times over before my body hit the ground, I would say something about it._ A loud buzzer rang from somewhere, signaling the start of the fight. Neither man moved at first, Phil didn't want to take the first attack; having never fought a ninja before, and Ryu seemed to honestly not be too concerned about his opponent. Then like a shot, Ryu leapt forward, flipped over Phil's head, grabbed his neck before he could even react and threw Phil about fifteen feet away. Phil slid to a stop in the snow and caught his guard. _Holy crap, what the hell was that?!_ He Quickly got back to his feet as Ryu dashed towards him. Phil ducked as the ninja took to the air in am impressive triple kick spin. Phil snapped back up and caught Ryu's left arm with him, and flipped him over his back for a quick takedown, but Ryu simply rolled through and landed on his feet. _Son of a-_ Ryu reared back, then thrust out both hands towards Phil's torso. Phil again narrowly dodged the attack. He knew Ryu was toying with him, and reminded himself not to let Ryu play the mind games with him. Phil kept his head clear and waited for a good opening, because they were obviously going to be few and far between. Ryu landed a hard knuckle across Phil's face, causing him to actually spin from the force. In the same motion, Ryu grabbed Phil from behind, spun around his neck and planted him headfirst into the snow. _Argh, did that SUCK!_ Again Phil forced himself to his feet. Ryu went for the knuckle strike again, this time Phil dodged and brought up a quick kick right into Ryu's face. The ninja staggered back half a step, but didn't fall, and looked more shocked that Phil had struck him than hurt. _Oh crap, I am SO sorry!_ Three quick kicks later, Phil was on his back again, asking himself why he was bothering getting back to his feet. As he got onto one knee, he saw Ryu go into a handstand and start spinning on his palms. _Oh damn it, no good can be coming out of this._ Ryu then shot both his feet out for a hard sweep, but Phil caught both of Ryu's feet and gave the ninja another kick in the face. Ryu wasn't shaken by the blow, so Phil followed up with another pair of quick thrust kicks with his other leg before releasing Ryu's feet. Ryu actually staggered back a couple steps but maintained his balance. Phil capitalized on Ryu's stunned state and swarmed in with a fast punch and kick combo. Ryu blocked the last punch and pushed Phil away, trying to spin him again. Phil switched to Kapwaeda and cartwheeled through the push and connected with a hard side thrust kick into Ryu's chest, knocking the ninja to the ground. _Finally!_ Phil gasped to himself. Ryu shook his head, then kicked back up to his feet. _Damn it!_ Ryu took his turn to come in for an attack, and almost caught Phil with a diving leg sweep when Phil expected a high kick. Phil dove over Ryu as he slid and both men got back to their feet. Ryu pushed out a deliberate crescent kick, and Phil caught it. Phil pushed Ryu's foot aside, allowing the ninja to follow through with a spin and the double palmed attack he had tried earlier. The force of the blow knocked Phil off his feet and sliding several feet through the snow. Another loud buzzer echoed through the arena, signaling the end of the match. "I can see through time..." Phil managed to squeak as he laid in a stunned state in the snow, the force of the hit had dazed him. Ryu bent forward and rested his hands on his knees, he spit once or twice, checking if there was any blood in his mouth. Phil shook his head clear and sat up in the snow, seeing the ninja approach him. _Man, I got my ass kicked_ he admitted to himself as Ryu crouched next to him and extended his hand.  
"Thanks for the match." Ryu said after a light cough. Phil nodded and bowed his head instead of shaking Ryu's hand. The ninja smiled and returned the bow. "I think that's the best fight someone has put up against me in the first round." Phil shook his head and smirked.  
"Man, you don't have to make me feel better, you had me from the start." Ryu chuckled and helped Phil to his feet.  
"Well I must admit, that first kick caught me very off guard." Ryu said as they both walked back to the elevator, Phil chuckled, remembering the look on Ryu's face.  
"I thought you were going to kill me right on the spot." he admitted, both men chuckled lightly. Phil felt more at ease now, he had lost the match hands down, but he enjoyed the show of good sportsmanship Ryu had. Phil then shook his head critically. "But that last attack, I really should have seen it coming, you telegraphed that kick, I should have known you were setting me up for a follow up." Ryu nodded to himself.  
"Don't be so hard on yourself, you'd be surprised how many people fall for that in the heat of the moment, you weren't the first, and if I were a betting man I would say you won't be the last." They were then silent for a few moments, watching the numbers on the elevator display go down, then Phil spoke up again.  
"Look, I know it is not my concern or my business, but about your situation with the other ninjas-" Ryu's face grew very cautious. "I would like to help you with your dilemma, specifically Ayane." Ryu watched Phil carefully.  
"How do I know I can trust you?" the ninja asked cautiously, Phil looked Ryu in the eyes.  
"You don't, yet anyways, I hope to earn that trust though." He handed Ryu a slip of paper. "This is my room number, come by at two in the morning, everyone else should be asleep by then, we can talk in private." Ryu took it and pocketed it, he still kept his guard up though.  
"I'll be there at two o'clock, check your balcony then. I'm bringing Kasumi with me, and if anyone else is in that room besides yourself, we will not meet with you." Phil paused then nodded.  
"Fair enough, I'll see you at two." They exchanged a bow again and went their separate ways once the elevator stopped at the bottom floor.

* * *

Uh oh, can anyone else smell a conspiracy? What's Phil's big plan? Will he actually help Ryu or get back at him for beating him so badly? Read on to find out! 


	12. Chapter 12: Company

I own nothing but the moths in my pockets  
  
Chapter 12: Company   
Phil looked at his wall clock.  
"Quarter to two." he told himself. He went out to his balcony and sat in his chair, put his feet up on the railing and waited. Only crickets in the distance could be heard lightly chirping, everything else was still and silent. After several minutes passed, a slim figure flew into the air, did a perfect front flip and landed on his railing, perched like a bird. There was no light on the balcony, and the lights in his room were off, but the moon's light was enough to let him know this was not Ryu. "Kasumi, I presume?" he asked quietly with a bow. The kuniochi slid off the railing and stood on the balcony, returning the bow.  
"Yes, thank you for seeing us so late." She was very polite in her voice and body language.  
_Man if this chick wasn't a ninja who could likely end my life whenever she saw fit... man..._ She pulled the hood off of her face and shook her hair loose from the back of her crimson bodysuit. Her hair hung loosely and blew gently in the slight breeze. "I thought Ryu was coming with you."  
"I'm here." Ryu's calm voice caused Phil to jump and look over his shoulder. The ninja stood quietly in Phil's doorway. "Just had to check your room first to make sure no one was hiding in there." Phil felt slightly offended by the action and remark, but he reminded himself that their lives were on the line here, so it was a required caution. The trio all walked into Phil's sitting room and closed all windows. They spoke silently about the plan Phil laid out, though it would involve another party not present. With the ninjas' agreement, he hesitantly dialed his phone. A sleepy voice answered on the other end. "Helena, it's Phil... Yes I know it's two in the morning, I'm sorry. Look, I can't give all the details, but I need you to come to my room as soon as you can... No I can't come over there, I need you here... You'll see why when you get here." He hung up and nodded to the ninjas. "She'll be here, likely pissed right off, but she'll be here." Not ten minutes later, the door knocked and Phil let Helena in. He was a little surprised to see her wearing only a pair of panties and his hooded sweater that he forgot at her room the night before, but he went about business regardless. Helena was equally surprised when she saw that her and Phil were not alone, but had 2 ninjas, fully clothed, looking up at her from a couch, clearly wondering why she was half naked. After a very fast explanation and round of apologies, Phil lent Helena a pair of jeans and they talked business. The hours crept along, but the plan was becoming better and better thought out. Finally the sun peeked over the horizon, and by this point Ryu and Phil were the only ones awake. Helena slept peacefully in a lounge chair, while Kasumi tried to keep herself awake, but dozed on and off throughout the discussion. Finally Phil looked at the wall clock, it was seven in the morning. "Alright, well I should try to get SOME sleep, I have a match against Leon in five hours, and I can't afford a second loss." Ryu nodded and motioned to shake Kasumi. "Ryu?" Phil asked quietly, the ninja eyed him. "So what's the story with you and Kasumi? She your girlfriend or something?" Ryu smirked for the first time since he had come over, he had maintained a very serious demeanor all throughout the meeting.  
"No, she isn't." he looked at her with admiration, then shook his head. "I, I used to be married, I cannot dishonour those past vows." Phil looked confused.  
"Married? So you got a divorce or something?" _Do ninjas HAVE divorces?_ Ryu shook his head.  
"No." he sighed then left Kasumi to sleep peacefully. "Irene was everything to me, but, I lost her, she was taken from me while I was away." Venom slowly came to the ninja's voice, and his eyes brightened with anger. "I was able to save her before, I should have known after those incidences never to leave her again, but like a fool, I did." Phil listened closely, sitting on the edge of his seat. "Hayate, Hayate." Ryu looked like he was having trouble with the words, his eyes moistened for only a second until he pushed them back. "That dog, that coward. He asked me to protect Kasumi for so many years, and as his friend, I did so, which pulled me away from my Irene." Ryu paused, again visibly pushing down emotions of sadness, but allowing the hate to surface. "When he took the reigns of the Mugen Tenshin clan though, he told me to kill Kasumi, but by then, we had become more than companions, we had become friends, I could not kill my friend. I disobeyed Hayate, and took Kasumi to sanctuary after sanctuary, but his ninjas were relentless. Wherever we went, they found us, and we would have to fight. Finally he must have grown tired of waiting, and sent his ninjas to kill Irene instead of us." He lowered his head, allowing a tear to slowly glide down his cheek. "I took Kasumi to my village to hide her, just for one night until we would continue, but the village was too silent. My brethren, all of them were killed, slaughtered, some of which to the extent that I could not recognize their faces. I remember rushing to my home, finding the sliding door ripped from its frame, and Irene..." he stopped. Phil felt angry for Ryu, first Helena had suffered, now Ryu. He did not know Hayate or Ayane, but already he hated them both for causing so much suffering.   
_People like that should not be allowed to live._   
"She was killed." Ryu finally finished. "Stabbed, cut, her body just lay on the floor... broken..." Rage burned in Ryu's eyes now. Phil was sorry he had asked, but now at least had a good idea of what he was up against.  
"Ryu, once we take care of Ayane, Hayate will be next." Ryu seemed to consider the thought, then shook his head.  
"No, what we are plotting is enough already, anything more and we will become no different than them, fate has a way of working things out. Once, long ago, I had a thirst for vengeance that was so unquenchable... it nearly cost me my humanity... No, killing either of them is out of the question." Phil nodded at Ryu's wise words, clearly he had given this a lot of thought.   
"If you had more time since Irene, then would you feel differently towards Kasumi?" Ryu's eyes widened like he had been insulted.  
"You're out of line, friend." Phil leaned forward.  
"I'm sorry Ryu, I didn't mean to offend you. But I mean, I see how you look at Kasumi, I'm a guy to man I know what that look means." Ryu eyed Phil with less offense. "She makes you happy, doesn't she?" Ryu sighed and nodded slowly.  
"Yes, whenever we talk, no matter how trivial the subject... she always can put a smile on my face, whenever I look at her I see Irene... she looks so much like her... I cannot dishonour Irene though." Phil leaned back in his chair again.  
"You wouldn't be dishonouring Irene though, would you? Wouldn't Irene want you to be happy?" Ryu paused at Phil's words. "You say you see Irene in Kasumi, do you really see Irene or do you see something that makes you happy?" Ryu sighed. "I'm sorry, Ryu, I am out of line, you're right. It is not my business, and I'm not familiar with the honour system of the ninja, but for what it's worth, I can see the happiness you two give each other simply by seeing how you look at one another, think about that." Ryu nodded and again motioned to shake Kasumi, but paused.   
"I know you need rest, but now I am curious, with Ayane out of the picture, Helena, Kasumi and myself all benefit, but what is in it for you?" he said as he glanced at Helena, still peacefully sleeping in Phil's clothing that literally was falling off her body. Phil blushed.  
"It's not what you think." he began. "But I will tell you what I want out of it. You are everyone's favorite to win, I've read the bets, you are heavily favoured to walk away with the championship this year." Ryu looked almost comical for a second before returning to his serious expression. "So, if you win, that will mean a rather hefty sum will be coming your way in winnings." Ryu nodded.  
"So, you want me to give you the winning purse then, is that it?" Phil shook his head.  
"No, the other night I promised Gen Fu that if I were to win, I would give him as much money as he needed for his granddaughter's surgery." Ryu was dumbfounded.  
"Master Gen Fu has a sick granddaughter? I was not aware." He paused, "Had I known, I would have given him my winnings from the second tournament." Phil shook his head.  
"Look, that's in the past, what matters is I made a promise to this man, and after the way you mopped the floor with me this morning... er... yesterday, I know I can't keep that promise, so here is what I propose to you. I help you and the ladies here to eliminate Ayane from the picture, in return, WHEN you win this tournament, Master Gen Fu will unexpectedly receive a very fat sum of money from you." Ryu looked at Phil once he was done speaking.  
"That's it? You're doing this, risking your neck against a pair of ruthless shinobi, so that master Gen Fu can receive the money?" Phil nodded.  
"That's about it, yeah. In the long run, your problem is lightened, Helena's is taken care of entirely, Kasumi and yourself have caught a temporary break from running and fighting, Gen Fu will get what he wants, and I won't be remembered next year as 'the guy who didn't keep his promise', so in a sense we all win." Ryu nodded.  
"Very noble, I agree to your terms." The pair shook hands and exchanged bows. "Remember your role in this, tell me if you are successful in the first stage of this plan." Phil nodded as Ryu picked up Kasumi and they seemingly vanished in a swirl of smoke. Once the smoke cleared and Phil was done coughing, he checked on the sleeping Helena.  
_Could have used the door, ya know. Sheesh if it isn't Bass turning my room into a smelly fog, it's ninjas with overly-dramatic entrances and exits._ He picked up Helena gently and carried her to the next room and tucked her into his bed. He came back to his sitting room and set his alarm. He had four hours before meeting Leon, which gave him just enough time to stretch out on his couch and catch a little sleep.

* * *

What is the big plan? How will Phil fare against Leon in such a sleepy state? Is a flame slowly building between Helena and Phil? Read on and find out.  
  
P.S.  
I know the Ryu/Kasumi pairing has been run into the ground, but it's apairing I've liked since the first DOA so if ya don't like it, too bad. ;) 


	13. Chapter 13: Taking on the Big Dog

Do I look like I own anything? Well I don't.  
  
Chapter 13: Against the Big Dog   
Phil stretched slowly as he walked into the arena. The looked around as the dust blew from the wind caused by large fans at the end of the arena. He stood in what appeared to be old Incan ruins, very well crafted, he actually felt like he was stepping into an ancient temple. Leon stood in the center, waiting for his opponent's arrival. Once Phil stood face to chest with Leon, a loud whir came from around them, and the walls of the temple suddenly danced with beams of electric current bouncing from conductor to conductor.  
_Whoa whoa whoa what? Hold on I heard nothing about a fence of electricity!_ Leon read the momentary shock on Phil's face and put his hand on Phil's shoulder.  
"It is scary, and it does hurt, sorry I'm going to be the one sending you home." Leon's taunt shook Phil back into the proper mindset and he looked up at Leon.  
"We'll see about that, won't we?" _Please, PLEASE don't eat me!_ The men took a few steps back from one another and the buzzer rang. Immediately Leon charged Phil. _Crap!_ He ducked under a massive lariat that easily would have crushed Phil's collarbone. Phil rolled through and kept some distance from the massive opponent. He knew his speed and smaller size were going to be his only advantages here, he had to avoid Leon's grasp at all costs. Leon was slow to turn back around to face Phil, and Phil took advantage by jumping high into the air and ramming the back of Leon's head with both feet. Phil landed on his back and got up quickly while Leon stopped himself from being sent into the electrical current. Leon turned with a powerful upward swipe of his arm, barely missing Phil who was about to charge in for another attack. Phil landed a pair of fast side kicks then hopped away before Leon could grab him.  
"Hold still damn you!" Leon growled.  
_No, sorry, you killing me would kinda put a monkey wrench in my plans._ Phil relied on fast hits and retreats. Though he only managed to knock Leon from his feet twice, he at least knew at this rate he would win on points if the timer were to run down. Leon was visibly becoming fatigued, and Phil used that to his advantage. Phil began to take liberties with Leon, striking him with longer combination moves every time he approached. Phil's over-confidence cost him though, as Leon stopped playing possum and swung downwards with both arms like he was swinging a sledgehammer. Phil side-stepped the first swing, but was caught unprepared for the second, rising swing, that literally sent Phil into the air a good two feet. The pain stunned Phil while he floated upwards and back down, he then felt the strong hands of Leon grab him out of the air. _Not good!_ Leon shouted fiercely and threw Phil like a dart against a stone wall. Phil forced himself to regain his wits while he slid down towards the electrical current. He kicked off the wall and barely missed being zapped by God only knew how much voltage. Leon was furious that his strategy had failed, and again charged Phil with a massive lariat. Phil stepped to his left and spun as Leon passed, once again shoving him with his feet, this time firmly placed into Leon's back. The push was enough to send Leon into the current, where he convulsed for several seconds, trying to scream but unable to do it. Phil realized what he had done, risked his well being and grabbed Leon by the back of his shirt and ripped him away from the current. Leon laid twitching on the ground for quite a while after the buzzer rang, announcing Phil the victor. Phil crouched next to Leon and met his eyes. "I am so sorry." he said softly. "I didn't know the current was that strong." Leon's twitching slowly calmed, though he still did slightly, it was not as violent.  
"Don't apologize, I tried to do the same to you." Phil didn't reply. "Leave me alone, you beat me, let me be." Phil began to stand, then crouched back down.  
"No." Leon glared at Phil, Phil continued. "I need to know you're going to be alright." Leon chuckled, the first sign of contentment Phil had seen from him yet.  
"I will be fine, it's not like I haven't been jolted by those things before." Leon was now able to slowly lift himself to a sitting position. Phil helped the large man to his feet.  
"Look, at least come back to the lounge with me and let me buy you a drink." Leon began to slowly walk with Phil's help, giving the smaller fighter a confused look.  
"Why would you do something like that?" Phil smiled up at Leon.  
"It's what we do back home, winner buys the drink." Leon nodded and looked like he was thinking about something.  
"You're too kind, but I guess I wouldn't want to offend your heritage, I guess a drink wouldn't kill me."  
_ If being electrocuted like that only stunned you, you're probably right._

* * *

Phil's still in the tournament, for now at least. what will happen once Phil gets talking to Leon? Keep on reading, you know you wanna. 


	14. Chapter 14: Strong Man Frightened Heart

Guess what? I own nothing, Tecmo owns everything, and now on with the chapter.  
P.S.  
Anyone who drinks Budweiser will hate me in about ten seconds, sorry.  
  
Chapter 14: Strong man, Frightened heart   
Phil sighed as he stared down into his beer. After only a few sips he realized that the beverages here were not quite the same as back home. Leon slammed down his fifth shot of sambuca and wiped his mouth.  
"What's the matter?" the large Italian asked. Phil smirked and placed his beer down on the table they sat at.  
"Ah nothing, just had my hopes too high." Leon nodded and analyzed the bottle.  
"Yes, I hear you have some strong stuff up North." Phil leaned back in his chair.  
"Not really strength I look for, but this tastes like water man, king of beers my ass." Both men shared a chuckle for a few moments. "So what are you going to do now?" Leon sighed and stared down at the row of empty shot glasses, then over his shoulder at the monitors that showed the other matches currently happening elsewhere.  
"I'm going to stay around here for a while, I have nothing else to go to. I guess it's back to training until next year." Phil leaned forward with his elbows on the table.  
"What do you mean you have nothing else to go to?" Leon shook his head.  
"You wouldn't understand."  
"What, do I have to buy you some more shots to get you to talk about it?" Leon looked Phil in the eyes.  
"What is it to you?" Phil raised his hands showing no offense was meant.  
"Just curious, sorry, I didn't mean to upset you." _Real smart Phil, put alcohol in this guy then make him mad._ Leon sighed and nodded.  
"This tournament is my life, at least until I win."  
"Then what?" Leon paused at Phil's words.  
"What do you mean, 'then what'?" Phil looked at Leon seriously.  
"Exactly what I said, what will you do after you've won? Once you have proven you are the best, then what?" Leon was motionless again.  
"I never thought that far ahead." Both men were silent as the bar of the lounge began to draw some more combatants. Phil took off his hat and let his hair hang down and mingle with his chin.  
"Why do you fight Leon? What pushes you to devote your entire life to this tournament?" Leon looked uncomfortable, even angry.  
"I..." he stuttered, sighed, and continued. "My wife, Rolande. I lost her long ago, her dying words to me were 'The man I love is the strongest man in the world.'... Until I win this damn tournament, I haven't proven myself worthy of her love." Phil looked down at the shot glasses, then back up at Leon.  
"Leon, you can throw another human being like a lawn dart, you're a damn strong man, you've already proven that." Leon closed his eyes and leaned his face into his fists. "Dude, your bicep is as big as my waist, you have don't have to convince anyone of your physical strength." Phil saw a thin tear escape behind Leon's fists. _Careful Phil, you do not want to make this man snap_. "Leon, you are a strong man, but there are other strengths instead of your body." Leon looked up from behind his fists, red circles around his eyes. "You know what impresses me the most about you, Leon? You lost the one you obviously love more than life itself, but instead of sitting around moping, you did something with yourself, you went on with your life." Phil paused to clear his throat and took another sip of the vile beer, he needed a sip of water to clear his throat anyways. "And you've kept living your life every day, but is this all that you think Rolande wants you to do with your life? Just beat people up?" Leon closed his eyes and shook his head slowly. "Leon, you still have your life, and obviously the drive to do what you put your mind to, why not use that to live life to the fullest?"  
"I must honour Rolande."  
"What do you think will honour her more? Seeing you fight in a tournament year after year, letting this rage just eat you, or going on with your life and spending the time you have left in this world to the fullest? Don't you think she wants to see you happy?" Leon's eyes were dry now and he hung on Phil's words. "Granted, I have never experienced the heartbreak you have, but I think wherever she is now, she's looking over you. You will see her again someday Leon, until then, why not live life to the fullest for both of you?" Leon was motionless for minutes, until finally he smiled, another tear managed to squeak past his eyes.  
"You're right, she wouldn't want me to be this... person I am today." Phil smiled back. "I've been so angry for so long, I think I forgot the joy she gave me when she was alive. Thank you, starting today, I'm going to live for both of us." Phil nodded and poured another pair of sambuca shots and they toasted each other.  
"To Rolande." Phil announced, Leon nodded.  
"To life." They clinked glasses and slammed back the shots.

* * *

Aww Leon was just a big teddy-bear after all... okay that's enough of that, the story continues so read on, the big plan is upon us. 


	15. Chapter 15: Screwing The Shinobi

Tecmo owns DOA's characters and places, I own a chair.  
  
Chapter 15: Screwing the Shinobi   
Phil shook hands with Leon and quickly followed someone out the door of the lounge. He walked briskly behind her, slowly gaining ground until he was only inches from her back. Ayane spun quickly, holding a kunai in her hand, pointing it at Phil's throat.  
"Why are you following me?" the ninja asked coldly. Phil took a step back, looking down at the tip of the blade.  
"Look, I just want to talk." He made no sudden moves while he spoke to her, hoping not to feel the blade catch him.  
"I don't want to talk to you." Ayane said smugly as she put the kunai away.  
"I can help you get Kasumi." Phil called after her, causing her to stop and turn again.  
"Say again?"  
"I can help you get Kasumi, all I need is a favour from you and your brother." Ayane walked back to Phil and looked him in the eyes.  
"How do you know about Kasumi, Hayate and myself?" Phil looked down at her seriously.  
"Everyone talks about it, they all know." Ayane nodded and looked like she bought the excuse.  
"So what do you have in mind, hmm?" She seemed almost to be mocking him. He looked over his shoulder and brought his head closer to hers.  
"Let's not talk about it here, take me to your brother so that we can discuss this privately."  
  
Moments later Phil was sitting in Ayane's room, trying not to seem uncomfortable as the pair of shinobi stared down at him in his seat. Hayate stood with his arms crossed, carefully inspecting Phil as they spoke.  
"So, explain this to me, how you can accomplish what my ninjas have failed to do?" Phil cleared his throat and fidgeted with his hands.  
"Alright, here's what I can do." Phil started, preparing to tell a huge lie, and hoping the pair would believe it. "It's a long story, but Kasumi and I have been spending a lot of time together, if you know what I mean. What I propose is that tonight I will take her out for a walk, conveniently towards the gates of the grounds, and if I can, I will get her off property, making her no longer under the umbrella she has here in DOAtec." Ayane raised an eyebrow and looked at Hayate, who still listened closely to Phil. "I'll rig a trap to keep her subdued. Once she's indisposed, I'll come and get Ayane at a planned meeting spot and take her to Kasumi. With Kasumi unable to fight back, Ayane can make quick work of Kasumi. While this is happening, Hayate, I believe you have a match this evening against Hayabusa?" Hayate nodded. "Then all we need of you, is to stall him as long as possible. If Hayabusa is busy fighting with you, he can't protect Kasumi now can he?" Hayate smirked and nodded, seeming to approve of the plot.  
"Alright, that sounds easy enough, but what's in it for you?" Ayane glared at Phil as they both demanded an answer.  
"As everyone knows by now, Hayabusa kicked my ass in the first round. With Kasumi eliminated, that will leave him in a two on one situation against you, and if he were wise he would flee while he had the chance. If he does not, he will likely be so distraught about the dishonour of his failure that he will either drop out of the tournament, or be such a wreck that he would be easy pickings to win. Either way, it gets him out of my hair. Once your task is accomplished, you will also no longer have reason to stay here. So with Hayabusa, Ayane and yourself dropping from the tournament, that greatly increases my chances of winning." Hayate rubbed his chin and nodded.  
"So you're willing to go to these lengths just so you can win?" Phil nodded.  
"Sometimes you have to make your own luck." Hayate smiled at Phil's comment.  
"So true, alright then, I agree." Ayane looked hesitant for a moment, then also consented to Phil's plan.  
  
Ayane quietly amused herself as she hid in some bushes just outside the gates of the DOAtec grounds. She heard footsteps swish through the grass as Phil came into view. She stood up from behind the bushes and they met at the road which was only lit by the moon.  
"Where is she?" Ayane demanded. Phil motioned with his hand for her to follow him. They both jogged silently through the nearby woods until they came to a small clearing. Ayane smiled gleefully as she saw Kasumi swinging back and forth in a net that hung from a tree. Kasumi looked unconscious as she was bundled in the net.  
"Chloroformed her, she's out cold." Phil said with a cocky nod towards the kunoichi. Ayane grinned at Phil as to say job well done. Phil held up his wristwatch. "And Hayate's match with Hayabusa should just be starting now, so you have all the time in the world, enjoy." Phil said as he turned and walked away, Ayane still grinned ear to ear.  
"Oh I will." She took a knife from her belt and walked towards the prone Kasumi. Suddenly bright spotlights hit her from every direction, blinding her immediately. A dull "thump" sound echoed in the night as a fist-sized beanbag flew out from the trees and knocked into her side, causing her to drop the knife. A second and third followed, hitting her in the chest and head. Ayane fell to the ground in a stunned shock. Instantly a pack of men dressed in black from head to toe swarmed her, shooting her once more with the beanbag gun for safe measure. The men wore black army boots, black cargo pants with long sleeved shirts and black balaclavas. They disarmed her of any weapons she had concealed in her clothes while one of the men injected a syringe needle into her side, causing her to pass out. Within seconds she was stripped of her ninja garb, redressed in an orange prisoner jumpsuit and put in restraints. An unmarked van appeared from the direction of the spotlights and slid to a stop next to the men who had Ayane. They threw the back doors open and opened what appeared to be a temporary holding cell where Ayane would be laid down inside of. The men carried her limp body into the van and placed her in the cell, shackling her hands and feet to the plexiglass chamber before locking it shut. Then almost as soon as they arrived, they were gone, the men, the van and their spotlights seemingly disappeared, and the clearing was silent again. Kasumi stirred in the net and hopped down gracefully. She looked over her shoulder towards Phil, he leaned against a tree, still rather impressed with the efficiency that the French police had worked with. Helena walked out calmly from the shadows of the forest. The three came together and didn't speak for several moments until Helena smiled with satisfaction.  
"Well, that went well." she said, Kasumi and Phil nodded in agreement.  
"So what will the authorities do with her?" Kasumi asked, sounding concerned for the person who was content to kill her just five minutes previous. Helena rubbed her own arms to keep herself warm in the night air, Phil put his sweater over her shoulders.  
"Well, she will be sentenced for the murder of my mother, and anyone who kills a celebrity always gets a harsher punishment. She probably won't be sentenced to death, but she will be locked away from a long time, hope she's ready to be someone's bitch when they throw her in jail." The malice in Helena's voice was still apparent, but she seemed to calm again as the moments passed. Phil looked back at his watch.  
"We should start making our way back, their match could be over by now." The trio agreed and quickly walked back onto DOAtec grounds, Phil said he wanted to make a quick stop somewhere before he went back to his room.  
  
Phil sat on a couch in the lounge, Hayate's and Hayabusa's match had just ended minutes ago, Hayabusa had won a thorough victory over Hayate. Phil was alone in the room, staring into the fireplace calmly. The serenity was broken as the sound of the doors swinging open and crashing into the walls echoed through the lounge.  
_Show time_. Hayate stood before Phil, very upset.  
"Where is Ayane? I went to the agreed spot, and all I found was an empty net and tire tracks." Phil looked confused as he looked up at Hayate.  
"I left Ayane to finish her business with Kasumi, I was not needed for the murder." Hayate scowled.  
"That's irrelevant, where is she?" Phil leaned forward.  
"Hayate, whatever happened after I left is not my problem. I promised Ayane that she would get Kasumi, and I gave her Kasumi, whatever the outcome turned out as is not my problem." Hayate drew his sword.  
"It is now you son of a-"The second he drew his sword, armoured DOAtec officers stepped out of doorways and shadows with assault rifles cocked and aimed at Hayate. The shinobi paused, then lowered his sword. "What is the meaning of this?" he growled. Phil looked at the armed soldiers.  
"Well, I decided to take a safety measure just in case if Ayane was to fail. I figured if she did, that would leave me in a very unsafe situation, so I called the guards just in case. Now it appears that she did fail, otherwise she would be likely boasting to you now about killing Kasumi." Hayate sneered at Phil as he put his sword away.  
"I'll find her, no matter what. I don't care what it takes, I will find Ayane and set her free. Wherever she is and whoever is holding her, I will find her and rescue her." Phil didn't hesitate to reply.  
"Kind of like how Kasumi went looking for you?" Hayate paused as he stared down at Phil. His scowl slowly dissipated into a look of shock. He blinked a few times, and without a word he walked out of the lounge. The soldiers slowly filed out of the room once they presumed Hayate would not return. Ryu and Kasumi stepped out of the shadows and sat with Phil, Helena soon joined them.  
"Well..." Ryu started. "I guess that's that." no one spoke, Phil looked up at one of the monitors over in the bar to read the matches for tomorrow. He coughed when he saw he was fighting Hayate in less than twelve hours.  
_Crap, talk about lousy timing_ he thought to himself. Kasumi looked at him and gave a weak smile.  
"Thank you for your comment, Phil." He looked at her with a bit of confusion. "When you made the comment about how I did whatever it took to find him, it looked like for the first time he finally is beginning to understand." Phil smiled back and sat back in his seat.  
"Was not a problem, Kasumi."

* * *

So that was the plan, and in the blink of an eye Ayane is gone. What will happen in the morning though? Will Hayate get his revenge on Phil? Read on. 


	16. Chapter 16: No Show

I don't own a thing, Tecmo does  
Warning to all prudes, this chapter contains... women's undergarments! What is this world turning into! Be warned.  
  
Chapter 16: No show   
Phil paced in the arena, waiting for what would undoubtedly be a very brutal war with Hayate. He kept himself pumped up, he knew he could not afford another loss, he wanted to at least make it to the semi-final match. He shook his head to keep loose while he continued to pace. Hayate was running late. Eventually a golf cart appeared out of nowhere and stopped next to Phil, an official sat in it.  
"Hayate is fifteen minutes late, congratulations Phil, you win by forfeit." Phil laughed to himself.  
_Well, someone up there likes me_ he thought to himself, since feeling the wrath of an angry ninja was not high on his list of enjoyable experiences. He left the arena and waited for the elevator to take him back down to the ground floor. He was in the semi-finals that easily.  
  
He walked out of the lobby and walked along the main road. He looked over at the beach that overlooked the ocean. Gen Fu sat alone in the sand with his legs crossed, staring down into the sand. Phil hopped a railing and walked to the old master.  
"I hear Hayate has left to search for his sister, that leaves you and Hayabusa in the semi-finals, I must say I am impressed you made it this far." Phil sat next to Gen Fu and they both now stared out at the horizon. "You westerners usually lack the discipline one would need to accomplish such things, again, I am impressed." Phil looked at Gen Fu coyly.  
"Zack won last year, he's a westerner." Gen Fu paused and nodded.  
"Alright, fine, luck does come into play at times as well." Phil chuckled and Gen Fu allowed himself to smile.  
"You're thinking about your granddaughter aren't you?" Gen Fu nodded sadly. "Remember our agreement, your granddaughter will get that operation. I promise." Gen Fu sighed.  
"You face Hayabusa my young friend, he is an astounding warrior." Phil agreed with Gen Fu's words.  
"But he is still just a man, and a good man. He is compassionate, and I don't think he would allow a child to die so that he could win a tournament." Phil stood and patted Gen Fu on the shoulder while the old man looked up in confusion. "Sleep easy tonight master." Phil said as he walked away.  
  
Phil had spent the remainder of the day resting, he wanted to be in top form against Hayabusa. He knew Ryu would likely beat him anyways, but he still wanted to make a good showing. As the sun set, the lights in everyone's room would come on, showing that they had returned for the night. Phil sat on his balcony with his feet up on the railing, he had sat outside since noon, enjoying the air. He sat now in the darkness of the night and just stared out. He saw Helena's light turn on and he wondered if she would call him. He saw her come into view as she walked across her living room towards the slider that attached to her balcony. She took the drapes and went to close them, but paused as she stared in Phil's direction.  
_ No way she sees me?! It's so dark. Great now she's going to think I'm a peeping Tom._ She stared out and then gently waved her hand. He smiled and gave a small wave back to her. She came out and leaned against her railing, they just stared at each other for several minutes. As lights went off from the other rooms their eyes could adjust even better to the night. Eventually all lights were out and Phil and Helena stared at each other across the way in the darkness and silence. Helena stood up straight and looked both ways, seeming to check if she was looking for any other signs of life. She lifted her hand as if to say 'stay there' to Phil while she went back into her room slowly. Phil sighed with a goofy smile. _That has got to be the sexiest walk ever_ he thought. Soon she returned into view and clicked off her light while she walked back onto her balcony. Phil smiled again to himself as she wore his hoodie which hung down several inches below her backside. The sweater looked more like a skirt on her as her bare legs teased him from her balcony. She took the bow out of her hair and let it hang loosely. She then slowly unzipped Phil's hoodie, exposing her white bra and underwear. Phil cursed the distance between them. _Of course the ONLY time a girl would do this, and she's way the heck over there._ She dropped the sweater to the floor and moved in a sexy fashion for him. _This is so unfair, mind you I'm still not complaining, but this is so unfair._ She swayed gracefully while she still smiled at Phil across the way, slowly turning around. _Hello what's this? She's... yup that's a thong, this HAS been a good day._ Phil chuckled to himself when suddenly the moment was interrupted.  
"Yeah Helena! Looking fine babyyy!" Zack's voice echoed across the complex. Helena quickly scooped up Phil's sweater and ran inside, pulling the drapes closed behind her.  
_But... what... no! Damn it Zack!_ A ring came from Phil's phone. He got up and walked inside to answer it. "Hello?"  
"Hi." Helena answered, laughing with a tone of embarrassment. "Sorry about that." Phil then chuckled.  
"Did I say I didn't like it? Don't apologize." Phil replayed the moment in his head and laughed to himself.  
"Want to come over?" Helena said more seriously. Phil hesitated. He wanted to so badly, but he also knew his match with Ryu was in the morning.  
_Okay, hot girl who is not wearing much clothing at all wants me over there. But on the other hand, I have a crucial match tomorrow. On the OTHER hand, Gen Fu will get his money either way if I win or if Ryu wins..._ "I'll be right over."

* * *

Maybe I should have named this chapter "Phil's good day"? Ah well. And Hayate has gone to look for Ayane, could this be a link to a future story? Huh? Huh? Final chapter is next! Oh come on you're so close, just finish it already. 


	17. Chapter 17: Final Round & Closing Time

I do not own a darn thing, haven't since chapter 1, and I still don't now.  
  
WARNING: This chapter is quite long, possibly the longest chapter in the history of ever, so get a warm blanket, a nice cool beverage and a sandwich and make yourself comfortable. It's long but it wraps everything up.   
  
Chapter 17: Final Round   
Phil groaned as the morning light pierced into his eyes. He lifted his head and looked down at Helena who was still sound asleep and nuzzled into his arm and chest. He looked at the clock, he had to be at the arena in an hour. He looked back at Helena and ran his hand along her cheek. He flipped a few strands of her hair away from her face and continued to glide his fingers down the side of her face. She made a sleepy mumble and dug her face deeper into his chest. He ran his thumb along her lower lips while his hand still touched her soft cheek. He sighed and finally convinced himself he had to get up. He kissed her on the top of the head and carefully maneuvered himself to get out of bed without moving her too much. He picked up his clothes and started to dress himself.  
"Nice bum." he heard, going bright pink instantly.  
"I thought you were asleep." he said to her with a smile. He faced her as she looked up with sleepy eyes. He zipped up his jeans and sat next to her while he fidgeted to get his shirt right-side-out again. She cuddled up behind him and ran her hands along his chest. "I have a match, otherwise you would be winning right now." She kissed his neck and snuggled more.  
"I know." she said with a cocky tease.  
"You know that I have a match or you know that you would win?" Phil gave her a sly look as if to imply he could resist her if he wanted.  
"Both." She kissed the other side of his neck and moved herself in front of him, wrapping the silk sheet around her delicate frame. She sat on his lap and cuddled with a sigh.  
_I'm never going to get my damn shirt on_. Phil thought.  
"What are you chuckling about?" Helena asked. Phil shook his head.  
"Nothing, but I do have to go, I'm sorry." Helena nodded.  
"I know." She kissed him on the nose and got off his lap. "I'll be here." Phil got up and finished dressing, cursing himself for leaving for his match. They shared another long kiss at the door and Phil was off. He had a bit of a bounce to his step this morning as he walked to the arena and into the elevator that would take him to where he would fight Ryu. He closed his eyes while he leaned against the wall of the elevator until an idea hit him.  
  
It was quiet in the manmade forest. Artificial wind gently blew some of the fine soft 'dirt' that made the path along the stream Only the pre-recorded sound of insects and birds that came from hidden speakers broke the silence. The dusty path started to swirl and gather leaves. Soon the swirl grew into a cyclone as Ryu slammed into the ground in a crouch. He stared up with his eyes, ready to meet Phil's eyes, but Phil was nowhere to be seen. Ryu stayed in his crouch, but looked around for Phil. Ryu then stood with a bit of a dumbfounded shock, what was the point of making such a flashy entrance if no one will see it? Suddenly the sounds of birds and insects stopped and the hidden speakers clicked loudly. Then a faint string section could be heard playing a simple melody over and over. Soon a few drums joined in while the strings built up in volume. Suddenly a blaring trumpet shattered the air while the theme to 'Hockey night in Canada' echoed through the arena. Ryu squinted and laughed to himself as Phil's figure grew in the distance. Phil zoomed down the path with rollerblades strapped to the bottom of his boots, hockey stick in hand and hockey gloves covering his fists. He wore a white Toronto Maple Leafs jersey with the number 16 and the name 'Tucker' proudly mounted on the back. He glided along the path until he came to Ryu and skated a close circle around him several times before skidding to a halt in front of him and putting his stick on the ground in a face-off position. Ryu chuckled.  
"You look ridiculous." Ryu finally said, Phil smiled up at him.  
"You do your thing, I'll do mine." he said with a smirk, kicking the rollerblades off his boots. Ryyu still shook his head, finding it hard to take his opponent seriously now.  
"So... why?" the ninja asked while Phil hung his jersey on a treebranch. Phil shrugged.  
"I figure, I'm done after today, may as well have some fun with it." They both chuckled and shook hands before going into their battle stances. A loud buzzer rang and immediately Phil threw the stick away and whipped the gloves off his hands. Ryu went for an elegant spinning attack right off the bat, but Phil beat him to the punch. Phil threw his martial arts to the side and just grabbed Ryu by the shirt and punched him several times with his free hand. The simple attack threw Ryu off his guard and he quickly pulled away, but Phil had a firm grasp of his top. Ryu pulled back with his legs, causing himself to lean forward which allowed Phil to grab the bottom of Ryu's top and pull it over his head. Ryu's head popped back up as Phil held his top, securing his arms. Phil took a few right jabs and let Ryu go. Ryu stumbled back and fell on his backside in the dust. He looked up in awe at Phil who now went into a kapwaeda position. Ryu threw his shirt to the side and regained his composure while he stood. _Okay, now he's going to kill me, but at least I got to do that._ Ryu kicked high, Phil ducked. Ryu kept spinning with a middle kick, Phil thought he was going to kick low and stood up right into Ryu's foot. The blow knocked Phil sideways and Ryu followed with a spinning knuckle that knocked Phil down. Ryu dove high into the air and plummeted down towards Phil. Phil rolled away and kicked up quickly. Ryu dove at Phil again, though this time not as high. Phil ducked Ryu and punched upwards while the ninja floated over him. His fist caught Ryu in the gut, causing Ryu to roll through his jump not as gracefully as he wanted to. Ryu ran towards Phil with a full head of steam and jumped. Phil prepared for a high or mid attack and ducked low, unfortunately for him Ryu's run converted into a slide and he took Phil down with authority. Phil scrambled away from Ryu and got to his feet. Ryu screamed loudly and thrust both his hands forward. Phil saw the attack coming and leaned back, causing the hands to miss him by only inches. Ryu immediately went into a backflip kick which caught Phil squarely on the jaw. Phil staggered but kept his footing. Ryu ran at Phil again and put out his shoulder and lowered his head. He seemed to move faster than Phil could see as he slid through as if to cut right through Phil. Phil sidestepped the attack and kicked Ryu in the back of the head, causing him to crumple to the ground on impact. Ryu quickly got up and shook the cobwebs out. Ryu spun up onto his hands and flung his feet at Phil. Phil dodged the strange attack but was not ready for Ryu to continue his spin. Ryu's kick staggered Phil yet again, and as Ryu slid onto his knees he brought up his hands and the impact launched Phil back, causing him to bounce off on of the fake trees and roll through the dirt and grass. _Shoulda seen that coming, idiot!_ Phil was dizzy and now in quite a bit of pain. He heard the buzzer sound, signaling Ryu as the winner. He sighed and laid on the ground still, trying to get feeling back into his body. Ryu appeared over him, rubbing his jaw.  
"Good match." Ryu said, extending his hand to help Phil up. Phil slowly got to his feet, aware now that he was indeed eliminated.  
"Remember our agreement." Phil said, clearly still dizzy from the last blow. Ryu nodded his head.  
"Master Gen Fu will see that money before midnight tonight, I promise." Ryu lifted his top from the dust and slid it back on. "That attack you got me with at the start though, it was so simple yet so effective. I have trained under many masters over the years but never seen an attack like that before, tell me please, where did you learn such an aggressive, simple and powerful attack like that one?" Phil smirked as he finally came to his senses.  
"Domi." Phil smiled as he retrieved his jersey. Ryu nodded.  
"Master Domi, I shall seek him out and learn his ways." Phil nodded, trying not to laugh.  
"Yeah, you do that."  
  
Chapter 17 and a half: Closing Time   
Phil jogged down the hallway to Helena's room and stopped at her door, catching his breath. He looked up and saw an envelope on her door with 'Phil' written across it with a turquoise glitter ink. He pulled the tape off the envelope and opened it.  
'My Sweet.' The letter began. 'Last night was incredible, I mean it. I know I said I would be here when you got back, but I've been called home. My opposite has caught a bad throat infection and I am needed back in Paris tonight, by the time you get this I will be on a plane heading to the airport. I'm sorry we had to part ways like this, I would have liked to say goodbye to you properly. I hope you do well in the remainder of the tournament, win or lose though I hope you know I treasure you and how you've made me feel. I'm sure we will have much to catch up on next year at the next tournament, if I come back. I guess now that Ayane is gone there's no reason for me to fight. Either way I'm sure we will see each other again someday, until then, thank you and stay well my dear. With much love -Helena.' Phil sighed and put his back against the wall and slowly slid down it until he was sitting on the floor, staring at the carpet.  
_That bitch_ he thought. He sighed and put the letter in his pocket. He had to be honest with himself, he had developed feelings for her over the time he had spent at DOAtec, and he thought after last night that she had also. He forced himself to his feet and slumped to his own room. He lazily shoved the door behind him and crashed face-down onto his couch. Moments later a knock came from his door and two people let themselves in. Bass and Tina sat in armchairs across from him and looked at him.  
"We caught your fight on the monitors." Bass said as he lit up a cigarette. "Was damn funny the way you took it to Ryu, too bad he bested ya." Phil didn't speak or move, he didn't even turn his head to face them. "Look son, it's not that bad, you made if further than the rest of us, cheer up there's always next year." Phil still said nothing. Bass got up and walked out of the room, Tina walked towards Phil and then sat on his back, starting to rub his shoulders.  
"Are you okay?" she said, actually sounding sincerely sympathetic for Phil. Phil wanted to just brush her off, but he couldn't now that she seemed so concerned for him, plus Tina actually was giving him quite a good massage.  
"Yeah, I'll be fine, thanks." Tina quietly continued to rub his back. _Now I'm just another guy this chick has straddled, lovely._ he thought to himself. _Now hold on Phil, she's been nothing but nice to you since day one, for crying out loud give her some damn respect._ He wasn't so much bitter towards Tina, just women in general at this point in time.  
"So where are ya going from here?" Tina finally ended the silence. Phil turned his head so he was no longer speaking into the couch.  
"Back home I guess, find another job until next year." Tina smiled as she continued to use Phil's back as a piece of clay.  
"I'm going back home to, only my home, not your home I mean. I'm going to keep on modeling or make another movie or something. I want to try singing to, I think I'd make a good pop star." Phil kept his chuckle in, suddenly he felt like he was talking to a fifteen year old instead of a grown adult. Tina finished Phil's back then leaned forward and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Well, I'll see ya around I guess?" She got off of him and gave his backside a playful slap as she walked to the door. Phil watched her.  
"Tina." Tina looked back. "Thanks."  
"Was no problem, I like giving massages."  
"No, I mean thanks for being the first person who helped me feel welcome, being so friendly, just, thanks for being you." _Yeah there were times she drove me crazy, but she is a sweet enough girl I suppose._ Tina smiled, waved and walked away. On her way out she nearly got run over by an ecstatic Gen Fu.  
  
"Phil!" Gen Fu said loudly, looking like he wanted to jump up and down. Phil slowly rose to a sitting position. Gen Fu tightly gripped a cheque in his hands and stared at it as if he wasn't sure it was real. "Hayabusa won! Then when I congratulated him he handed me this cheque! It's the winning purse! My granddaughter can have her operation!" Phil smiled at Gen Fu's excitement, the old man pocketed the cheque and secured his pocket so it would not fall out. "You knew this would happen didn't you?" Gen Fu said with a smile while he waved his finger at Phil. "That's what you meant yesterday you little schemer you!" Phil nodded.  
"I knew I couldn't beat Hayabusa, so we worked something out." Gen fu pulled the cheque back out of his pocket to stare at it again. "A promise is a promise, and I couldn't deal with not keeping mine." Gen Fu sat but bounced in his seat.  
"Thank you my friend." Gen Fu shook Phil's hand with a new energy. "I'm off to China tonight to pay the doctors! My little granddaughter will get to grow up because of you and Hayabusa, thank you!" Phil smiled and shook Gen Fu's hand in return.  
"Be well, go to your family." Gen Fu nodded and rushed out the door to be on the first plane out of DOAtec. Phil looked out his window to see Hayabusa and Kasumi in Kasumi's room, packing her things. He went out to his balcony and looked at them until they saw him. They waved to him, both smiling, seeming to finally be able to breathe easy. Phil waved back and walked into his room again. _May as well pack_ he thought.  
  
It was mid afternoon when Phil stepped out of the residence elevator for the last time until next year. He held his backpack over his shoulder and checked his mailbox before he left. A letter from Leon sat inside. He opened it and read it.  
'To my friend Phil. It was a great honour meeting you this year, but it was an even greater honour to be able to call you my friend. It astounds me that one so young can be as wise as you, thank you for sharing that wisdom with me. I'm off to head back to Italy, I am going to use my purse to open a small restaurant, just like Rolande and I always used to talk about. No more fighting, no more military, I'm going to live. Thank you my friend, and if you are ever in Venice, look for 'Rolande's' and be sure to stop in to say hello. -Leon' Phil smiled while he slid the letter into the front compartment of his backpack. He looked a little deeper into his mailbox to see some folded paper. He pulled the origami flower from his mailbox and stared at the beautiful pink and orange paper creation.  
"Kasumi." he said with a smile. As he found a place to put the flower so nothing else in his backpack would crumple it, a boy walked to the mailboxes, putting letters in them.  
"Oh, this one's open. Are you Phil?" Phil nodded and the boy handed Phil an envelope then continued his duties. Phil looked at the envelope, there was the same glittery turquoise ink on it that Helena's other letter had. Phil sighed and dropped the envelope in his backpack and zipped it up.  
  
He had sat in the airport for almost two hours. Since the large number of competitors had already left in the eliminations, DOAtec now only used small sesna's to take the fighters to another airport that would take them home instead of the large airliners they arrived in. Phil's curiosity got the best of him and he fished out Helena's second letter, giving him something to read to pass the time. He took a deep breath then opened the envelope, expecting more bad news. A key fell out of the envelope and onto his lap.  
_The hell?_ He opened the letter and read it.  
'I'm sorry, you must think I'm such a whore after that first letter. I've been feeling nothing but guilt since I wrote it. I'm in the airport waiting to go back to France, so I hope they can deliver this to you while you're still at DOAtec. I can't just leave like this after last night. I know I was a little mean to you when we first met, but you've shown me there is more to life than me and my vendettas. I know I'll probably always be a snobby bitch, but I want to change that if I can, and I guess this is my way of asking if you can deal with being with a snobby bitch. I'm fighting with myself right now but I have to do this. My address is on a separate paper folded up with some francs that will give you cab-fare from the airport in Paris to my house, and there's a key to my house. I can't believe I'm doing this but I want you to come with me. I can't just be that close to someone after all this time then go back to no one. If you have something else to go back to at home or if you just don't want to come, then I understand, but either way I hope you know that I'm thinking about you endlessly. You've made me happy, you let me know that someone cares about me, I hope that wasn't just a temporary thing. I want to take care of you the way I know you would take care of me. I hope I see you again my Sweet. With very much love -Helena'  
_Holy crap!_ Phil thought to himself. He touched a mark of Helena's lips, left on the paper with a light pink lip gloss. He thought hard, nodding to himself with all his points and counter-points. _Should I go? I just met this girl. A week ago I didn't even know she existed and now I'm debating on leaving my life behind to go to her? Would it be wise to? But what about life back home? I guess the choice is obvious, I hope._ Finally a man came to him.  
"You're Phil Conners from DOAtec correct?" Phil snapped into reality again and unfolded the paper with Helena's address and the francs. "I'll be your pilot to take you home, as you know DOAtec offers only the best in personal flights to their attachments. Come, let's get you on your plane and take you home." Phil stood and walked with the man towards his private jet that would take him away. "Sorry to keep you waiting, we had only three available planes for all of you." Phil nodded as they boarded the small plane, he was greeted by a steward who showed him a food and drink menu. "So where are we taking you?" The pilot said as he removed his hat and walked towards the cockpit. Phil held the key in his hand and tightened his grip on it.  
"France, Paris, please."

* * *

Aww the cheesy happy ending, pass the tissues around folks. Well that's it, it's all done, I hope the ending was what you readers wanted. Thank you all reviewers, I hope this story was worth your time, I feel it was worth mine.  



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